Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the content of the Council’s files relating to the complainant’s family. This is because we would achieve nothing significant by doing so.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Ms X, complains that the Council’s file relating to her family contains false information and judgemental and emotive language.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X’s children have been the subject of child protection action and private law proceedings regarding contact with their father. Ms X has obtained their case files and complains that it contains instances of false information, which the Council submitted to the Court. She also complains that the information on the files contains judgemental and emotive language.
6. Ms X wants the information on the files to be edited and corrected. She wants her views to be set out in the Council’s records of the case.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we can achieve nothing significant by doing so. We will not ask for records to be altered retrospectively because they reflect the view of officers at the time they were produced. The most we will ask for is that a record of the complainant’s views is added to the file. Ms X has set out her views in her complaint to the Council. So, they already form part of the case record. If she wants a further statement from her to be added, she may ask the Council to do so. The Ombudsman’s intervention is not warranted.
8. If Ms X believes information on file is factually wrong, she may pursue her legal right to rectification. She can bring her concerns to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is the appropriate body to consider them.
9. Ms X says that some of the false information has been shared with the Court. By law, the Ombudsman cannot consider evidence provided to a court. This restriction applies to any information on the Council’s file which has been disclosed to the Court, whether it is accurate or not. There is no discretion available to us.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we would not achieve anything significant by doing so.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman