Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an allegation of false statements made by the Council in a court hearing. We cannot investigate matters that have been to court. The Council has apologised for not including the complainant in his mothers’ emergency contacts list and rectified the matter. It is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different result to that provided by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall refer to as Mr B, complains the Council:

• provided false information in statements used in a court hearing; and
• did not list him as an emergency contact in his mother’s care plan until he pointed out the error.

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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, paragraph 1, as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about a personnel issue. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 4, as amended)
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I sent Mr B a copy of the draft decision, and considered his comments made in response to it.

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What I found

7. Mr B says his mother was living in her own house, but her care needs increased and she moved into a care home, initially on a temporary basis. As his mother did not settle into the care home, Mr B says she moved to another one where she was happier.
8. A court hearing took place in December 2020 and the Judge decided that it was in Mr B’s mothers’ best interests to reside with one of her other children, a sibling of Mr B.
9. Mr B says the Council included false information in statements it made to the court. Mr B would like points in the statements to be withdrawn and disciplinary action taken against those who are responsible in the Council.
10. We cannot investigate matters that have been to court, or any council action in court proceedings. It was open to Mr B to challenge any Council evidence he disputed in court. Nor can we recommend disciplinary action against individuals because we cannot investigate personnel matters.
11. Mr B complained to the Council that it had failed to follow the correct process and add him to his mothers’ emergency contacts contained in her care plan. The Council agrees that Mr B should have been added to the list, and apologised. Mr B has now been added to the contact list. If we investigated, it is unlikely we would come to a different conclusion than the one reached by the Council so we can achieve no more for Mr B by doing so.

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Final decision

12. We cannot investigate this complaint about statements made in court by the Council as the law does not allow us to do so. The part of the complaint about the Council not including Mr B on his mother’s emergency contacts list has been resolved and the Council has apologised. It is unlikely that further investigation by the Ombudsman would reach a different conclusion.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman