Summary: Mr B complains the Council refuses to correct his personal data. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Officer is better placed to consider Mr B’s concerns.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains the Council hold incorrect personal information about him in its records. He says it refuses to correct the information.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I discussed the complaint with Mr B and considered the information he provided.

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What I found

5. Mr B’s ex-wife applied for a special guardianship order for her grandchild. As part of the assessment process, and because he had joint special guardianship for other grandchildren, the Council interviewed Mr X.
6. He says the Council has incorrectly recorded some of his personal data. And while it has agreed to attach a correction statement to the file for some of the information, it will not correct all the errors.

Assessment

7. Under Article 16 General Data Protection Regulations, a data subject may ask the data controller to amend or delete personal data held about them if it is incorrect or incomplete.
8. To comply with the fourth data protection principle on accuracy (Article 5(1)(d) GDPR) an authority should:
• take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of any personal data we obtain;
• ensure that the source of any personal data is clear;
• carefully consider any challenges to the accuracy of information; and
• consider whether it is necessary to update the information
9. If Mr B remains dissatisfied with the action the Council on his personal data, we would expect him to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner. That is because the Information Commissioner has the specific powers and expertise to deal with data protection matters.

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Final decision

10. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because the ICO is better placed to consider his concerns.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman