London Borough of Barnet (18 019 551)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 25 Mar 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Ms J’s complaint because the law does not let us investigate a complaint about a report submitted to court.
The complaint
- Ms J complains about a report which the Council submitted to court during proceedings involving her children.
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 have considered the information Ms J provided with her complaint. I have given her the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.
What I found
- Ms J’s complaint is about a report which the Council submitted to court during proceedings involving her children. The law does not let us investigate complaints about what happened in court. This includes reports submitted to court. So we cannot investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the law does not let us investigate a complaint about what happened in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman