London Borough of Redbridge (26 015 637)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the internal management of a school. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about what happens in schools. Additionally, the courts have said we can decide not to investigate complaints about actions by a council on a matter the law prevents us from investigating.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about a school’s headteacher and board of governors. Mr X says the school mishandled information it received about him.
- Mr X also complains the Council refused to investigate his complaint about the matter.
- Mr X says this caused distress.
- Mr X wants the Council to properly investigate his complaint.
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 most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended)
- The courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by an organisation concerning a matter which the law says we cannot investigate. (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 Mr X.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The law prevents us from investigating complaints about conduct, curriculum, internal organisation, management or discipline in any school maintained by the Council. We therefore cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint.
- We will also not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to investigate his resulting complaint. The courts have said we can decide not to investigate complaints about actions by a council on a matter the law prevents us from investigating.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating complaints about what happens in schools. Additionally, the courts have said we can decide not to investigate complaints about actions by a council on a matter the law prevents us from investigating.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman