Warrington Council (20 007 463)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 19 Oct 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the actions of Council officers and members in response to the complainant’s concerns about bullying at his daughter’s school, and the way in which the School responded to his complaints. This is because the matter is out of our jurisdiction, as part of it relates to the internal management of a school, and part to issues relating to court proceedings. Additionally case law states that we cannot consider complaints about the actions of councils in relation to matters that are out of our jurisdiction.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr J, says that his daughter has been badly bullied at her school. He says the School has not dealt with these problems properly, and when he brought his concerns to the attention of the Council, it did not deal with them appropriately. Mr J is unhappy about the court proceedings that ensued. He has raised allegations of misconduct and criminal activity against a number of officers and councillors.
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 complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(b), as amended)
- The Courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr J and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr J’s complaint because all the matters raised are out of our jurisdiction. Some of them relate to the management of a school, some to court proceedings, and others to the actions of the Council concerning matters that are out of jurisdiction. Additionally complaints regarding allegations of criminal activity are for the police.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman