Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that the Council failed to provide suitable full-time education provision for X’s child. This is because X the matter is subject to court proceedings.

The complaint

1. X complains that the Council failed to provide a suitable full-time education for their child since March 2025. X also complains about how the Council has dealt with their complaints about this matter.

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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 if someone has appealed to a tribunal or a government minister or started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6), as amended)
4. The courts have said that where someone has sought a remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, we cannot investigate. This is the case even if the appeal did not or could not provide a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)

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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. We will not investigate X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to provide full- time education for their child from March 2025 to November 2025. This is because we have already previously considered and decided a complaint from X covering this period. We cannot accept repeat complaints about the same issues.
8. I cannot investigate X’s complaint about a failure to provide their child full-time education after November 2025. This is because X submitted a judicial review about these matters. The law prevents us from investigating complaints where someone has started court action about the same matters.
9. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate X’s complaint because the matter is subject to court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman