Liverpool City Council (25 011 145)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 01 Dec 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about long queues at the court on the day of his court hearing. This is because we cannot investigate matters subject to court proceedings or events that happened at court.
The complaint
- Mr X says he attended court for a hearing about his council tax liability. He says there was a long queue outside the court, and he decided to leave.
- Mr X feels that he could not participate in his court hearing because of the long queues. He says that the Council should take responsibility for the queues outside the court building.
- He said the court would not have issued him a Liability Order if he had been able to attend his court hearing that day.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X attended a council tax liability hearing at the court in January 2025. He said there was a long queue outside the court. Mr X says the court officers told him that he would have to wait at least 90 minutes or more before he could enter the building.
- Mr X says he left because he could not wait outside for that long because of his age and health situation. He feels that the Council should take responsibility for the queues outside the court on that day.
- Mr X said he believes that had he attended his court appointment, the court would not have issue a council tax liability order.
- I note Mr X’s concerns, but we cannot investigate matters that are subject to court proceedings. We also investigate incidents that happened at court.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot investigate incidents that happened at court. We also cannot investigate matters that are subject to court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman