Hampshire County Council (24 014 629)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council took court action against him due to his child’s non-attendance at school. This is because we cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action and we will not investigate matters that have been raised in court.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council was wrong to take court action for his child’s non-attendance at school given he did not receive a penalty notice. Mr X also complains the Council was wrong to ask him to prove the notice was not delivered to him, as this is not possible.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council’s policy says it will consider prosecution for non-attendance of a child at school if a parent fails to pay a penalty notice in time. And I note the law prevents payment after the deadline.
- Mr X told the Council he did not receive the notice to allow him to pay and so it should not take court action. The Council continued with court action and Mr X raised his points of contention in documents to the court.
- Any complaint about the decision to start court action is outside our jurisdiction. And we will not investigate issues that have been raised as part of those legal proceedings. It is not appropriate for us to comment on matters considered by the courts as we would risk overlap or conflict with the court’s jurisdiction.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action and we will not investigate matters that have been raised in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman