Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about children services’ action. There are no reasons to justify investigating events known to Ms X since 2021. We cannot investigate the Police’s actions. And the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider a data sharing complaint.

The complaint

1. Ms X says the Council has given false information to another Council and she has struggled to complain to the Police.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about action taken by or on behalf of any local policing body in connection with the investigation or prevention of crime. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, Section 26, paragraph 2 as amended)
4. 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)
5. 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 another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council’s most recent replies to her.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Ms X says the Council made false allegations against her and she says she successfully sued the Council in 2021. She says a Court ordered in 2021 that her children be returned to her care. She says this has not happened. She says the Council is now providing another Council with false information about her. She says she wants us to help her make a claim against the Police.

Analysis

9. We cannot investigate the Police conduct in the investigation of a crime.
10. Ms X has the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if she believes the Council has shared her personal information without her consent. Parliament set up the ICO to consider data protection disputes which includes ‘information sharing’ disputes. The ICO are better placed than us to consider this part of her complaint particularly because there are complex exemptions for child protection.
11. We cannot investigate events known to Ms X for more than 12 months without good reasons to do so. Ms X complaints about the Council’s actions following court proceedings in 2021are about events more than 12 months old. There are no reasons to justify investigating these issues now.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we cannot investigate Police criminal investigations, and there are no reasons to justify investigating events known from more than 12 months. The ICO is better placed to consider an information sharing complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman