The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about how the Council prepared a report for court. The law prevents us from investigating matters which are subject to court proceedings.
The complaint
Ms X complains about how the Council prepared a report for court. Ms X says the Council caused delays, showed bias and failed to investigate concerns she raised.
Ms X says the matters caused her a significant emotional impact.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X raised various concerns about how the Council carried out its report for court proceedings.
Ms X said the Council failed to investigate her concerns, failed to visit her to gather up-to-date information and showed bias in its report.
Ms X also said the Council delayed the process and failed to follow the court’s instructions.
As outlined in paragraph four, we cannot investigate matters related to court proceedings. This includes the preparation and contents of reports a council presents in court.
Ms X should raise her concerns in court, either by herself or via her legal representatives.
For this reason, we cannot investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating matters subject to court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman