Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about information the Council’s children services team gave a Court. We cannot investigate court proceedings.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, says the Council lied to a Court.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mr X provided with his complaint and information from the Council. I considered Mr X’s comments on a draft version of this decision.

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What I found

5. Mr X says the Council gave a Court inaccurate information about him. He says this led to the Court granting a Special Guardianship Order. He says this meant his children live with his parents. He says his relationship with his children has been detrimentally affected.
6. The Council says Mr X made a similar complaint in 2016.
7. We have no power to investigate the information a Council officer gave a Court on which the Council’s decision relies.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot investigate the accuracy of information a Council gave a Court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman