West Berkshire Council (25 018 677)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 11 Dec 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about an inaccurate case record regarding him held on the Council’s systems because the Information Commissioner’s Office is better suited to consider the matter.
The complaint
- Mr X complained about the accuracy of a case record held on the Council’s files regarding him and his children.
- Mr X said the matter caused him frustration.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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))
- We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection and data processing. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. Mr X has the right to ask records are ‘rectified’. This means any factual inaccuracies are corrected. If the Council refuses to do so, he can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Parliament set up the ICO to consider data protection disputes which includes ‘right to rectification’ disputes. The ICO is better placed than the Ombudsman to consider if the Council should change its records, particularly because there are complex exemptions for child protection case files.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Information Commissioner’s Office is better suited to consider the matter.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman