Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s involvement in the care and contact arrangements between Miss X and her child. This is because these issues have been considered in court and some issues raised are late. The Information Commissioner is better placed to consider Miss X’s complaint that the Council are withholding information.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that the Council failed to promote contact between Miss X and her child in 2020 and again in 2023, that the Council provided inaccurate information in court and that it is withholding information about her child’s education Miss X also complains about how the Council dealt with her complaint about these matters.

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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 late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
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. The courts have said that where someone has sought a remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, we cannot investigate. This is the case even if the appeal did not or could not provide a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)
6. 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

7. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council failed to promote contact between her and her child in 2020. This is because this element of her complaint is late, and I see no good reason why she could not have complained sooner.
10. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council failed to comply with a court order and promote contact in 2023. This is because any breach of court orders are matters for the court and Miss X used her right to return the matter to court in late 2023.
11. Miss X says the Council provided inaccurate information to the courts. However, the law prevents us from investigating what happened in court and this includes information provided by councils during proceedings.
12. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council is withholding information about her daughter. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is better placed to consider such matters.
13. Finally, I will not investigate how the Council dealt with Miss X’s complaint. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it concerns matters considered in court and because the ICO are better placed to consider other matters.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman