Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions as part of court proceedings. The law prevents us from doing so. It is open to Mr X to complain further after proceedings.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council failing to disclose important information as part of court proceedings. He says this caused a detriment to his case and left his children in danger. Mr X says this has caused him significant distress. He wants the Council to train its officers and review how it shares information with parties during court proceedings.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X complained about the Council’s actions as part of court proceedings. The Council will not consider a complaint at this stage as proceedings are ongoing.
6. The law prevents us from considering matters that are inextricably linked to court proceedings. It is open to Mr X to complain again to the Council after proceedings have finished. Should Mr X believe any aspects of his complaint are separable to the matters considered and decided by the courts, it is open to him to bring a complaint to us after complaining to the Council. We can consider at that time whether any of the complaint is within our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is about matters that are currently being considered in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman