Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about court action because of her daughter’s non-attendance at school. This is because we cannot consider complaints about what happened in court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complains about the Council’s decision to take court action due to her daughter’s non-attendance at school. Mrs X says she sent the Council a letter a week before court proceedings which it did not respond to. Mrs X says the Council presented false information in court.

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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)
4. We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
5. 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

6. I considered Mrs X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information she provided. I also gave Mrs X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on her complaint.

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What I found

7. Mrs X says that on 11 September 2020, she wrote to the Council to ask it to stop a court hearing which was due to take place on 18 September. The Council was prosecuting Mrs X because her daughter had not attended school between January and July 2019. Mrs X’s letter explained the reasons her daughter had not attended school. Mrs X says the Council did not respond to the letter and presented inaccurate information during the court hearing.
8. The exception at paragraph 3 applies to Mrs X’s complaint. We have no jurisdiction to consider complaints about what happened in court. We cannot therefore consider a complaint about the information the Council presented in court.
9. The letter Mrs X sent the Council set out the reasons Mrs X disagreed with the Council’s decision to prosecute her. I see no reason Mrs X could not have presented this information in court, and so the exception at paragraph 4 also applies.
10. Mrs X is unhappy the Council did not respond to her letter. But even if the Council had responded, it seems the outcome would have been the same – that the matter would have proceeded to court. Also, the letter itself is inextricably linked to matters we either cannot or will not investigate. An investigation by the Ombudsman is not therefore appropriate.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because we cannot consider complaints about what happened in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman