Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s involvement in Miss X’s children’s case. The matter is currently subject to court proceedings, however there may be matters that can be separated after those proceedings have finished.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s failure to respond when she raised concerns about inaccuracies in a report it produced, and it wrongly deciding her concerns were a data protection matter only. She says the father of her child has been given visitation rights due to the errors, and the report will be used in court which risks her child’s safety. She says the matter has caused her significant distress and she wants the Council to provide answers, apologise and work with her to protect her child.

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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)
4. 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 do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
5. We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Miss X’s complaint is about the Council’s lack of response when she contacted it about errors in a report it produced, and its subsequent decision to treat the matter as a data rectification request under data protection legislation instead of a complaint.
9. It is open to Miss X to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), as the body responsible for considering how organisations handle people’s information. However, there are elements of Miss X’s complaint that fall outside of the remit of data rectification, as her concerns include lack of response and delays by the Council. There may also be matters that fall outside the ICO’s scope if they relate to difference in opinion, rather than clearly evidenced errors. Such issues may therefore be within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction instead.
10. However, Miss X has provided evidence that private court proceedings have begun, relating to the child’s residence and contact. Until those proceedings have completed, we could not come to sound conclusions on whether injustice was caused by any fault. Therefore, after proceedings have completed, it is open to Miss X to complain to the Council again and then to us, if necessary. We can then decide whether we can, and should, investigate Miss X’s complaint.
11. However, given the impact Miss X says the matters would have on the court process, she should raise any issues that would have a material impact on the court’s decision as part of that process. We cannot interfere in matters that are before the courts, nor could we influence the court’s decision on Miss X’s child’s best interests.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is about matters that are currently before the courts.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman