Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint about the actions of the Council’s Special Educational Needs department, and about the Council’s response to his subsequent complaint. This is because Mr B makes his complaint in his capacity as Chair of Governors at a school.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council was at fault in its management of the placement of a child at a school, and in the response to his subsequent complaint.

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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 complaints from public bodies. (Local Government Act 1974, section 27(1)(a), as amended)
4. 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

5. I have considered what Mr B has said in support of his complaint and the complaint correspondence provided by him and by the Council. I have considered what Mr B has said in response to a draft of this decision.

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What I found

6. Mr B is the Chair of Governors at a school. In that capacity he complained to the Council about the actions of its Special Educational Needs officers in relation to the placement of a child at the school. He believes the officers were at fault, and is also critical of the way the Council responded to his complaint.
7. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is made on behalf of the governors of a school. School governors constitute a public body and complaints by them fall outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
8. As the complaint concerns a matter which is outside our jurisdiction, we cannot investigate how the Council has responded to it.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because it is made on behalf of a public body.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman