Sunderland City Council (22 006 072)

Category : Education > Other

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 16 Aug 2022

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about how the Council responded to concerns about bullying in a school. This is because the complaint flows from the internal management of a school, which we have no jurisdiction to consider. The law says we cannot consider complaints about the actions of councils in relation to matters that are outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complained about bullying in his son’s school. Mr X complained the Council had failed to safeguard his son.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
  2. We cannot investigate complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(b), as amended)
  3. 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

  1. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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Final decision

  1. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint. Complaints about what happens in schools are outside our jurisdiction. We have no powers to consider complaints about a council’s actions if they relate to something which is outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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