Devon County Council (21 015 016)

Category : Children's care services > Other

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 04 Feb 2022

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the content of a report. This is because this matter is not separable from matters which have been before a court, and about which it would be reasonable to return to court.

The complaint

  1. Mr X said the Council has more than once included inaccurate information in a report. He said it has cost him a barrister’s fee each time to prove the report is wrong.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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)
  2. The courts have said that where someone has used their right of appeal, reference or review or remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, the Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to investigate. This is the case even if the appeal did not or could not provide a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)
  3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
  2. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s final response to it leave no doubt that the reports referred to have been written for a court process. That it has cost Mr X a significant sum to challenge the reports does not create jurisdiction for us to intervene.

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Final decision

  1. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the matters complained of are not separable from the court process that has taken place, or from Mr X’s right to return to court, which it would be reasonable for him to use if he remains dissatisfied with the content of the report.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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