Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the contents of a court ordered report because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that have been, or are being, considered in court proceedings.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the contents of a report the Council provided to the court in family court proceedings.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
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 considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X complained to the Council about the contents of a court ordered report submitted to the court in family court proceedings in 2019. Mr X says the social worker’s report was negligent and totally contradicted the previous social workers’ recommendations.
8. The Council subsequently amended the conclusion of the report in Mr X’s favour and it was submitted to the court. Mr X says the Council only amended the conclusion of the report and not the body of it and so it contradicted the rest of the report. He says this has caused the court proceedings to be extended and delayed at significant financial cost to him.
9. We are unable to consider complaints about reports which are presented to the court. Complaints about matters that have been, or are being, considered in court proceedings lie outside our jurisdiction and we have no discretion to consider them. We cannot do so.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it lies outside our jurisdiction as it is about a matter that has been considered in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman