Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council (24 013 840)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a housing matter because we cannot investigate a complaint about what happened in court, and it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint handling if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
The complaint
- Mr Y complained the Council lied and misled the court during a disrepair claim. He also complained that Council officers then lied to during a complaint investigation into the original complaint to cover up the original lies to the court. He has complained the Council then refused to consider his complaint about this.
- Mr Y says he has incurred significant costs during the matter, has been inconvenienced and says his health has been affected.
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)
- 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.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr Y complained the Council allegedly lied and misled the court during a disrepair claim. The law prevents us from investigating what happened in court, including the content of any submissions made by the Council to the court and its related actions. We have no power to intervene or make decisions in place of the court.
- Mr Y has also complained about the Council’s alleged cover up of the misleading of the court Mr Y originally complained about, where Mr Y says two other officers who investigated the original complaint lied. As this is a complaint about how the Council dealt with Mr Y’s complaint and its decision not to investigate a further complaint about its complaint handling, it is not a good use of public resources to investigate where we are unable by law to consider the substantive matter. We will not investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because we cannot investigate a complaint about what happened in court, and it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint handling if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman