Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about who cares for her children as a Court decided that. We should not investigate her complaint about data sharing as the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Miss X, complains about why the Council cares for her children and that the Council will not share documents it has about her children.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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)
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information Miss X provided with her complaint and the Council’s reply. Miss X had the chance to give her comments on a draft version of this decision.

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What I found

6. The Council cares for Miss X’s children. It says it does so because a Court ordered it to. Miss X says she was tricked into agreeing her children should be in care. She says she does not see her children as much as she wants. She says she has asked the Council to share with her the documents it has about her children, and other information, and it has refused.
7. We cannot investigate why the Council cares for Miss X’s children as the Court ordered that.
8. The Data Protection Act gives Miss X the right to ask the Council to provide all the information it has about her. As a parent she may be entitled to see all the information it holds on her children. The Council has decided not to provide this.
9. Parliament set up the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to decide data protection disputes. Not providing information which a person has a right to see, can be a data protection dispute. The ICO is better placed to consider Miss X’s complaint about information sharing. This is particularly so because the Council has refused to provide the information she wants to see.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the Court decided the care arrangements for her children and the ICO is better placed to decide her complaint about data sharing.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman