Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Council not providing historic adoption records. This is because the Council signposted the complainant to the correct body to resolve her complaint. There is nothing further to be achieved by way of an investigation at this time.

The complaint

1. The complainant whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, complains the Council failed to provide records relating to the adoption process involving her daughter and a sibling brother. The brother was adopted by a family through a different Council, (Council B).
2. Mrs X believes the records will show the Council and by extension Council B, failed to consider her as a suitable candidate to adopt both children. She wants the Council to admit procedural errors during the adoption process and send a letter of apology to her daughter.
3. Mrs X says this will bring closure for her daughter who has suffered psychological distress due to unresolved questions about the separation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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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. Mrs X initially requested her daughter’s adoption records from the Council to address her queries. She was provided with documents which she says did not contain the historic information required.
8. She clarified the request and the Council advised her to contact a regional adoption agency (RAA) which managed the adoption services for both the Council and Council B. The records for the children had been transferred to the RAA.
9. Mrs X has since engaged with the RAA which recently confirmed that she will be sent her daughters adoption records in two to three months. The RAA has refused to disclose the brothers’ records, on the basis that she is not legally entitled to access. However, it has agreed to support Mrs X in facilitating contact between the siblings and will keep the situation under review.
10. Once Mrs X receives her daughter’s records, she can consider her position again and decide whether to pursue a new complaint. At this time the responses from the Council and the RAA are satisfactory.

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Final decision

11. My decision is that we should not investigate this complaint as there is nothing further to be achieved at this stage.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman