Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to properly investigate the circumstances of a referral to children’s services. This is because there is no evidence of fault on the Council’s part, and we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant wants.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains that the Council has failed to properly investigate her complaint that a malicious referral made to children’s services in the area she resides came from a member of its staff.

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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 impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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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. Miss X says a referral made to children’s services in her home area came from a member of the Council’s staff. She alleges Council employees have accessed her information and breached her confidentiality. She says she has no connection with the Council’s area other than the third party, who is an employee of the Council.
6. Miss X is unhappy with the way the Council has addressed her complaint. She says the matter has been handled by officers directly involved. She wants the Council to acknowledge what the third party has done and take disciplinary action against them.
7. We will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault on the Council’s part, and we cannot achieve what Miss X wants. The Council has confirmed that it has not made a referral to Miss X’s home authority. If Miss X believes the third party, or anyone else working for the Council, has accessed her information without cause or breached her confidentiality, her recourse is to bring the matter to the attention of the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is better placed than the Ombudsman to consider it.
8. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about councils as corporate bodies, not against individual officers. By law, we have no power to recommend disciplinary or other action against individuals.
9. It is not a good use of public money to investigate complaints about complaint procedures if we have decided not to pursue the substantive matter. That is the case here, so we will not consider how the Council considered Miss X’s complaint.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault on the Council’s part, and we cannot achieve the outcome she X wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman