Wakefield City Council (23 019 065)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about an assessment the Council completed for the Court. The law says we cannot investigate matters that the Court has dealt with.
The complaint
- Miss X complained about assessments the Council completed for the Court. She said these were biased and did not reflect her concerns about her ex-partner’s domestic abuse. She said the inaccurate information the Council presented the Court affected the outcome. Miss X said she could not attend court to challenge the assessment, as she was fearful for her safety. Miss X wants the Council to complete a further parenting capacity assessment.
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 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)
- We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council. That is because the matters she complained about have been considered by the Court. Therefore, the law says we cannot investigate. It would have been appropriate for Miss X to raise her concerns about the Council’s assessment of parenting capacity and domestic abuse with the Court.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because the matters have been considered by the Court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman