Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that a council officer lied in court and the living arrangements for the complainant’s son. This is because the complaint is about matters considered and decided in court. It is therefore outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complains a council officer lied to the Court of Protection about matters involving his adult son (Mr Y). Mr X is unhappy with Mr Y’s living arrangements which were decided by the Court of Protection.

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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)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Ombudsman cannot consider matters which have been discussed in court or which could reasonably be raised in court. We cannot consider complaints about the preparation, collation, and analysis of evidence, including reports written by social workers or other officers for court proceedings. We cannot consider complaints about the evidence given in court by council officers. Such matters are outside our jurisdiction with no discretion to consider them.
8. If Mr X wants to challenge Mr Y’s living arrangements or any rulings about his capacity to make decisions, then he needs to return to court. We cannot decide where Mr Y should live or challenge the Court’s decision.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is about matters considered and decided in court. It is therefore outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman