Nottinghamshire County Council (23 005 755)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 22 Aug 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a letter written by the Council to the complainant’s ex-partner concerning a child. This is because the letter is linked to private law proceedings, and a legal bar prevents from investigating its content or how that content was arrived at.
The complaint
- Mr X says he has recently become aware of a letter stating that the Council referred his child to another service in 2020. He also says the letter from the Council (sent to his ex-partner) was used by his ex-partner in court in a money claim awarded against him.
- He would like to know why he was not kept informed by the Council.
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 have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council has informed Mr X that it cannot deal with his complaint as the letter is linked to his private law proceedings with his ex partner.
- The correspondence Mr X provided was used in a court case. As such, it forms part of court proceedings, and a legal bar prevents us from investigating it or how the Council arrived at the views it contains. It was for a court to decide what weight to place on the report.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is not separable from court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman