Essex County Council (19 009 464)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Nov 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s complaint that the Council has refused to amend its files to remove false information it holds about him. This is because he can bring his concerns to the attention of the Information Commissioner, who is better placed than the Ombudsman to consider them.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr A, complains that the Council has refused to amend its files to remove false information it holds about him.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Mr A has said in support of his complaint.
What I found
- Mr A says he is not permitted to have unsupervised access to his grandchildren. He argues that this is because the Council has records of allegations against him which can prove to be false. Mr A wants the Council to fully investigate the alleged incidents and to alter its records to show that the allegations against him were malicious. The Council has refused to amend the records. It has referred Mr A to the Information Commissioner.
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s complaint. It concerns the accuracy of the Council’s records. This is a matter which can be referred to the Information Commissioner, who is better placed than the Ombudsman to consider such complaints.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mr A may bring his concerns to the attention of the Information Commissioner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman