Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr F’s complaint about the contents of a report. It was written for court and is therefore outside his jurisdiction. We would advise Mr F to send his complaint about the Council holding inaccurate information about him to the Information Commissioner.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr F, complains that the Council used inaccurate information about him, which it had previously promised to correct, when compiling a report for court.

Back to top

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 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 normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered information supplied by Mr F including the Council’s response to his complaint.

Back to top

What I found

5. Mr F says that, in the course of private legal proceedings, the Council was asked to produce a “Section 7” report on the welfare of his children. He says it used inaccurate information which it had already been asked to change. Mr F says that as a result, he had to incur approximately £3,000 in extra legal costs to challenge the report.
6. Reports to court are covered by the restriction set out in paragraph 3 so we cannot investigate either the contents of the report or any impact this may have had, including any legal costs incurred as a consequence.
7. If Mr F is concerned that the Council’s records are still inaccurate, he can complain to the Information Commissioner who, unlike the Ombudsman, can determine whether there has been a breach of data protection laws in this case.

Back to top

Final decision

8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr F’s complaint about the content of a report as it forms part of legal proceedings and is therefore outside his jurisdiction.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman