Summary: We cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council did not disclose relevant information when it took him to court. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the start of court action or what happened at court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council did not disclose relevant information to court when it took prosecution proceedings against him. Mr B says he became aware of this after making a subject access request to the Council. Mr B says the court proceedings resulted in him receiving a custodial sentence which was reduced to a suspended sentence after he put in an appeal to the crown court.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr B.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr B’s complaint is about the Council’s handling of court proceedings it started against him. Specifically, Mr B complains the Council did not disclose relevant information to court.
7. We cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint. This is because the law says we cannot investigate complaints about the start of court action or what happened in court. This means we have no discretion to investigate the issue Mr B complains about.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is about the Council’s handling of court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman