Summary: We will not investigate Miss D’s complaint about the Council’s decision to carry out a child and family assessment. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement. We will also not investigate its handling of her information. The Information Commissioner is better placed to deal with this part of her complaint.

The complaint

1. Miss D complains completed an unnecessary child and family assessment with her and shared inaccurate information about her and her family with her MP. She says this has caused her anxiety and distrust in the Council’s social services. She wants the Council to apologise, correct its records, and pay her compensation.

Back to top

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
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

4. Where someone raises concerns about a child’s welfare to a council, it has a duty under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 to make “such enquiries as they consider necessary to enable them to decide whether to take action to safeguard or promote the welfare of a child in their area”.
5. The assessment may result in:

• no further action;
• a decision to carry out a more detailed assessment of the child’s needs; or
• a decision to convene a strategy meeting.

6. In its response to Miss D’s complaint, the Council said it received two safeguarding referrals about Miss D and her family. It said it decided these referrals warranted a child and family assessment. It completed its assessment but found no safeguarding concerns, so it closed the assessment with no further action. It said it was satisfied it acted appropriately.
7. We will not investigate this part of Miss D’s complaint. When it receives reports of safeguarding concerns, a council has a duty to investigate and to decide whether it needs to take further action. In this case, the Council took appropriate steps to investigate and, following its assessment, made a decision to take no further action. There is not enough evidence of fault in its handling of this matter to justify our involvement.
8. In its complaint response, the Council accepted it had shared inaccurate information about this matter with Miss D’s MP. It apologised and said it had now provided correct information to her MP.
9. Miss D complains the Council’s response did not address all the incorrect information she raised in her complaint. She says she is concerned the Council may still hold and share inaccurate information about her and her family.
10. We will not investigate this complaint. Where someone has a complaint about information rights or data protection and is unhappy with the Council’s response, we usually expect them to take the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights. It deals with complaints about public authorities’ alleged failures to comply with data protection legislation. The ICO is in a better position than the Ombudsman to consider Miss D’s complaint about the accuracy of its records so we will not investigate.

Back to top

Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss D’s complaint about the Council’s decision to carry out a child and family assessment because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation. We will not investigate its handling of her information because the Information Commissioner is better placed to deal with this.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman