London Borough of Barnet (25 010 997)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 25 Sep 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about a report the Council produced. This is because the report formed part of court proceedings.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the contents of a section 7 report the Council produced. He says the report was biased and that there was a conflict of interest.
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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint. A section 7 court report forms part of court proceedings. We have no jurisdiction to investigate any matters related to its content or preparation.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is about what happened in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman