Westmorland and Furness Council (24 008 361)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 Oct 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council misled him when he made an application to a court about its involvement with his adult son’s education. This is because it was reasonable for Mr X to raise the matter with the courts.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council misled him which caused him to name the wrong Council in an application he made to a county court.
- Mr X wants the Council to refund his court fees.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), 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.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X made two applications to a county court regarding the Council’s involvement with his adult son, Mr Y, and the education provided to him during a Tribunal appeal. Mr X said the Council gave him information which led him to name the wrong Council in the original application. Mr X says this cost him time and trouble and two sets of court fees.
- Mr X said the court dismissed his final application and told Mr X he needed to submit an application for a Judicial Review, which was not within the county court’s remit.
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because Mr X could have asked the court to consider these issues during its involvement, and it is reasonable for Mr X to have done so.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable to have expected him to raise the matter with the courts.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman