Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council (26 016 910)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Sep 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about information the Council provided to court and the police. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about what happened in court, and about action taken by the police when investigating crime.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council provided inaccurate information to both the court and the police.
- Mr X says this caused distress.
- Mr X wants the Council to tell the court and the police it provided inaccurate information to them, and to investigate the conduct of a social worker.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about action taken by or on behalf of any local policing body in connection with the investigation or prevention of crime. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, Section 26, paragraph 2 as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X’s complaint is about the accuracy of information the Council provided to the court during court proceedings. We cannot investigate this. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about what happened in court.
- I understand Mr X’s complaint is also about the accuracy of information the Council gave to the police. However, the police handle criminal allegations themselves, so we cannot investigate this.
- Additionally, the Ombudsman cannot investigate whether social workers are meeting their professional standards of conduct. Complaints of this nature should be referred to social workers’ professional body, Social Work England.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating complaints about what happened in court, and about action taken by the police when investigating crime.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman