Summary: The law says the Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr and Mrs B’s complaint about the Council’s response to their complaint about the actions of a school.

The complaint

1. The complainants, who I will refer to as Mr and Mrs B, complain about the way the Council investigated their complaint about their son’s school.

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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 complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(b), as amended)
4. The courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered what Mr and Mrs B have said in support of their complaint.

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What I found

6. Mr and Mrs B say their son suffered bullying at school. They say that, in response to their efforts to address the issue, the school made false allegations against them. They complain about the Council’s investigation of their complaint about the school’s actions.
7. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr and Mrs B’s complaint. By law, we cannot consider the school’s actions. And the courts have said we cannot investigate a council’s actions where they relate to a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. That is the case here.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because it concerns the Council’s response to matters which fall outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman