Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (20 009 206)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 26 Jan 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about a report the Council gave a Court. The report forms part of legal proceedings which prevents us from investigating it.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the preparation and content of a report the Council’s children services team provided to a Court. Mr X says it has cost him excess costs of £42000 as well as emotional and psychological distress.
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)
- 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 the information Mr X provided with his complaint which included the Council’s reply. Mr X had the opportunity to comment on a draft version of this decision.
What I found
- In 2019, the Council provided a report to Court on Mr X’s children’s welfare and circumstances. This is called a section seven Children Act report. Mr X complained about its compilation and its content. He says the Court ordered for it to be removed from the record.
- Mr X complained to the Council. In 2020, it offered £3000 for the costs of a replacement independent social work report, the stress, and inconvenience caused. It says the Court had not ordered a costs order against the Council.
- Mr X says the Council’s offer is not enough. He says his excess costs attributable to the Council’s report are £42000.
Analysis
- We cannot investigate the preparation, collation, and analysis of evidence, including reports written by social workers or other officers for court proceedings. This includes section seven reports.
- We also cannot investigate the way the Council dealt with a complaint about this or the adequacy of a remedy offered within a complaints procedure.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot investigate Council’s reports which form part of legal proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman