Summary: We cannot investigate Mr Y’s complaint about serious allegations made against him by a Council officer because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that have been considered in court proceedings. We have no discretion to do so.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains about serious allegations made against him by a Council officer which he says were false. The matter has been subject to criminal proceedings and resulted in a conviction.

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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 the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr Y complained to the Council about the matter set out in paragraph one, above.
7. The Council told Mr Y it would not consider the matter further via its complaints procedure because the complaint related to an incident which had been subject to a police investigation and court proceedings which resulted in a conviction. It explained that matters that have been considered in court proceedings cannot be considered via its complaints procedure.
8. We cannot investigate Mr Y’s complaint. It lies outside our jurisdiction because the matter has been considered and decided in court proceedings. We have no discretion to consider complaints about such matters, so cannot do so.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Mr Y’s complaint because it lies outside our jurisdiction and the law says we cannot consider it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman