Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the school meals served to Miss X’s child. The matters complained of are ones a school is responsible for, not the Council, and we are legally prevented from investigating the actions of schools.

The complaint

1. Miss X said her child was receiving a poor diet at school due to overly restrictive choices concerning the child’s food allergies. She said the catering company used by the Council had declined to give her a full breakdown of each menu served.

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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 complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of a council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).
4. We cannot investigate most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Decisions about school catering are made by schools. Any action by a caterer about the menus provided for Miss X’s child devolves from the authority of the school, not the Council.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because decisions about the meals provided in her child’s school are not an administrative function of the Council, but of the school, whose actions we are legally prevented from investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman