Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s complaint about the Council withholding video evidence from him. This is because Mr A can ask the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to consider whether he can have access to data he believes he is entitled to, but the Council is refusing to let him have.

The complaint

1. Mr A says the Council should let him see video footage taken by a witness of a carer abusing his son, Mr B. Mr A says he wants to see the recording so he can see what happened to Mr B. Mr A says he was not told of the allegation when it happened.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.

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

3. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I discussed the concerns with Mr A and considered the information he and the Council provided. I sent Mr A a copy of my draft decision for comment.

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What I found

5. Mr A says the Council did not tell him of the allegation and he only found out a few weeks later when the care provider told him.
6. The Council has confirmed it considered the allegation under its responsibility for safeguarding vulnerable adults. There is no evidence of fault with this point. Mr A has not suffered any significant injustice from not being informed at the earliest opportunity to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.
7. Mr A says he wants to see the video recording of his son allegedly being abused by a carer, but the Council says it will not show him because the recording is owned by a third party, that is the witness who reported the allegation.
8. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) considers complaints about access to information and it would be reasonable for Mr A to ask the ICO to consider his concerns that he is being refused access to information he believes he is entitled to. Information about the ICO and how to make a complaint can be found on the website below:

https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mr A can ask the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to consider whether he can have access to data he believes he is entitled to but the Council is refusing to let him have.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman