Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about evidence the Council provided to the court in private law proceedings because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that have been considered in court. We have no discretion to do so.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council lied in court and withheld evidence to make him look bad which influenced the judge’s decision on his case.

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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 do not start an investigation if we decide 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 and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. This is not a complaint we can investigate. This is because it is about evidence the Council provided to the court during court proceedings. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that have been considered in court. We have no discretion to do so. This restriction also applies to any reports produced for and presented to the court during proceedings.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it lies outside our jurisdiction and the law says we cannot consider it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman