Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the content of a Council report used for court. This is because the law says we cannot investigate matters considered by a court.

The complaint

1. Miss complained the Council submitted a factually inaccurate and misleading report to the Family Court. She said this negatively influenced the outcome of the court proceedings, which caused emotional distress and has affected her relationship with her child. Miss X wanted the Council to acknowledge and amend the inaccuracies in the reports and review its internal policies.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X said she raised her concerns in court and provided evidence during proceedings. However, the inaccurate information in the report was not corrected.
7. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint. As part of proceedings involving children a court may ask the Council to produce a report. The court will then consider the report as part of its decision making.
8. Because the report complained about formed part of court proceedings, we have no jurisdiction to investigate its preparation or content, including any inaccuracies.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because the law says we cannot investigate matters which have been considered by a court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman