Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council kidnapping the complainant, damaging his property and the Council leader perverting the course of justice. The matters complained about are either not administrative functions of the Council, the consequences of court action, or too unspecific.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council:

• kidnapped him and took him to prison in 2019 and September 2020;
• caused damage when it broke down his door in September 2020; and
• has failed to respond to his complaints.

2. Mr X also says he would like to report the leader of the Council for misconduct in a public office, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and for attempting to extort money from him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. We cannot investigate a complaint where the body complained about is not responsible for the issue being raised. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. The role of the Ombudsman is to consider the Council’s administrative actions. The matters Mr X has complained about are not administrative functions of the Council as it has no power of arrest; those are police functions. The papers with Mr X’s complaint show the court issued a restraining order against Mr X, and the Council applied for his committal to prison for breaching it. We cannot investigate the start or conduct of court action including its consequences.
9. The issues Mr X has raised regarding the leader of the Council are either criminal matters for the police to consider or so vague as to be meaningless. His claim of extortion appears from documents with his complaint to relate to charging for council tax, and the Council has already obtained a liability order in the county court. We cannot therefore investigate this part of the complaint.
10. Claims of property damage are issues that can only be determined by the Courts should the Council deny liability. Therefore, it would be reasonable for Mr X to take the matter to court, through his insurers as necessary.
11. In cases where we do not investigate the matters in a complaint, we do not separately investigate the Council’s complaint handling process. That is the case here.

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Final decision

We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the matters complained about are either not administrative functions of the Council, relate to court action or are too unspecific.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman