Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council included his confidential address in a court report. This is because the law says the Ombudsman cannot investigate what happened in court.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council shared his confidential address in a court report.
2. Mr X said the matter caused him distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint. The section 7 report written by the Council was ordered by the courts. The Ombudsman is excluded from investigating matters which are before the courts. This includes the content and preparation of any social work reports.
8. Because the report was made for the courts, the law says we cannot investigate.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot investigate what happened in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman