Hertfordshire County Council (22 014 034)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s involvement in an unofficial school exclusion. This is because the law prevents us from investigating school disciplinary matters.
The complaint
- The complainant, Miss X, complained her son’s primary school unofficially excluded him for two days. Miss X says the school acted on advice from a third-party organisation which is part-owned by the Council.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(b), as amended)
- The courts have said we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council concerning a matter which is outside our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not start an investigation into Miss X’s complaint.
- The decision to unofficially exclude Miss X’s son was taken by his school, which has upheld Miss X’s complaint. We have no powers to consider complaints about what happens in schools, including disciplinary matters. The exception at paragraph 3 therefore applies.
- Miss X is unhappy with how the third-party organisation, partly owned by the Council, has acted. But the courts have said we cannot investigate a complaint about a council’s actions when it relates to something we have no powers to investigate. This applies here. The Council is only involved because of her son’s unofficial exclusion and so the exception at paragraph 4 also applies.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is about the Council’s involvement in an internal school management and discipline issue.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman