Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council and the Magistrates’ Court failing to provide legal documents about his Council Tax debt. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about court action or matters considered in court and the Information Commissioner is best placed to consider complaints about access to information.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains he wrote to the Council and to the Magistrates’ Court for copies of the court summons and liability order relating to his Council Tax debt. He says the information has not been provided. He says this means he cannot check the liability orders and the Council should stop enforcement action.

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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 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).
4. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Court granted liability orders for Mr X’s 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 Council Tax arrears. The Court has decided Mr X is liable for the arrears.
8. Mr X complains he has not received an original copy of the court summons and liability order he requested from the Court or the Council. He said the Council should stop enforcement action until he has the information.
9. We cannot investigate matters which have been subject to legal proceedings. When the Magistrates’ Court issues a summons for unpaid Council Tax, this starts legal proceedings. The Council later granted liability orders for the arrears. We cannot investigate the Court’s decision to grant the liability orders or question their validity.
10. Mr X says he has not received original copies of the summons and liability orders.The Information Commissioner’s Office is best placed to consider complaints about how organisations handle people’s data and respond to requests for information. There is not a good reason for us to consider the matter instead.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot investigate complaints about court action or matters considered in court and the Information Commissioner’s Office is best placed to consider the matter.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman