London Borough of Hackney (25 000 477)
Category : Other Categories > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 27 May 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about information shared during court proceedings. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about what happened in court.
The complaint
- Miss X complains about information shared during court proceedings that negatively influenced the outcome and breached data protection.
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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about what happened in court. This includes what information a council discloses during proceedings.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating complaints about what happened in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman