Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a report written by the Council staff for Family Court proceedings. This is because we have no remit to investigate matters connected to evidence relied on in court. And it is not proportionate to look at the complaints handling in isolation when we are not looking at the core complaint.

The complaint

1. In summary, Mr X complains about a report used within ongoing Family Court proceedings. Mr X says the assessment is incorrect and includes incorrect personal data.
2. Mr X also says the Council failed to properly investigate or correct these issues before relying on the assessment in court proceedings.
3. Mr X says this has impacted his personal life significantly.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. 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

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mr X is dissatisfied with how the Council has handled his concerns about the alleged errors in the report and omissions of relevant evidence.
9. The Council has admitted a ‘data entry’ issue, provided an apology and said the document will be ‘refiled’. It also said the Data Protection Officer can review the matter if Mr X wishes.

10. We will not investigate. This is because the core issues concern a report being relied on in court. The Ombudsman has no remit to investigate matters integral to evidence used in court. It is open to Mr X to raise his concerns with the report in court.
11. I have considered if there are other matters we could investigate.
12. However, with respect to Mr X’s concerns about the complaints process, we would not be able to separate this out and consider as a standalone issue. It is not proportionate to investigate the Council’s handling of the complaint process where we are not also investigating the underlying substantive issues.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we have no remit to consider matters connected to evidence relied on in court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman