Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about information provided by the Council in relation to a private court matter. This is because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about information the Council provided during after an application was made to the family court. Miss X says the Council provided inaccurate information which caused her distress and could have influenced 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 impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the actions of the Council have not caused her a significant enough injustice to warrant further involvement. The application to the courts was withdrawn and therefore the information provided by the Council was not considered during proceedings and therefore did not influence any outcome. I don’t consider that any frustration caused by the information provided is significant enough to warrant further action.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the issues raised have not caused a significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman