Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s management of allegations against the complainant. This is because we cannot achieve anything significant by doing so.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs B, complains that the Council failed to inform her about allegations made against her, failed to properly investigate the allegations, and that the allegations remain on its records.

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 effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

5. Mrs B says she was a connected foster carer. Her complaint concerns allegations made about her by children formerly in her care. She complains about the management of the allegations. She says the Council initially failed to inform her about the allegations but that they were brought up when she made an application for a Special Guardianship Order. She says that, as a result of the allegations, she cannot have unsupervised access to her grandson.
6. Mrs B wants an apology from the Council for its failure to investigate the allegations and financial compensation. She also wants to know exactly what information about her is held on the Council’s records.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because we cannot achieve anything significant by doing so. It is not for the Ombudsman to say whether the allegations merit further investigation. I note that the care of the children may be the subject of court proceedings and the allegations may be examined there. The Ombudsman cannot intervene. It is also the case that, if Mrs B in unhappy with contact arrangements, her recourse is to go to court.
8. Turning to Mrs B’s complaint about the Council’s records, if the allegations were made the Council is correct to record them. The Ombudsman would not expect the Council to amend records retrospectively, though it is open to Mrs B to ask for a record of her views to be placed on file.
9. If Mrs B wants access to the records, or wants corrections made, she can make requests to the Council under the General Data Protection Regulation. If she is unhappy with the Council’s response to her requests, she may bring the matter to the attention of the Information Commissioner’s Office. There is no role for the Ombudsman.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because we cannot achieve anything significant by doing so.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman