Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about a report used in court. This is because the issues Miss X raises cannot be separated from the ongoing matters before the family court.

The complaint

1. Miss X says Council staff provided incorrect information in a report for court. She says this resulted in her losing contact with her children.
2. Miss X says she has been caused upset, distress and anger. She would like the Council to provide a new report for the final court hearing and apologise to her.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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

5. I have considered all the complaint information sent in by Miss X.

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What I found

6. We cannot intervene in court proceedings or investigate reports prepared for the court.
7. We cannot separately investigate council officer actions without considering their consequences. In this case, all the effect of the Council’s actions are in the court proceedings, reports and evidence. So, Miss X’s potential remedy lies via the courts, and we cannot investigate.

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Final decision

8. I cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint issues are not separable from the ongoing court action.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman