Portsmouth City Council (19 007 462)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 05 Oct 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs A’s complaint that the Council disclosed confidential information to a third party. This is because Mrs A may bring her concerns about the disclosure to the attention of the Information Commissioner, and investigation by the Ombudsman would not achieve the outcome she wants.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs A, complains that the Council disclosed confidential information to a third party.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Mrs A has said in support of her complaint.
What I found
- Mrs A says she had a conversation with a Council officer who was working with her family. She complains that the officer disclosed the content of the conversation with a third party. She says the Council has upheld her complaint and apologised.
- Mrs A does not regard the apology as sufficient. She wants the Council to replace the officer working with her family.
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs A’s complaint. Mrs A may bring her concerns about the sharing of information to the attention of the Information Commissioner, who is better placed than the Ombudsman to consider complaints about breaches of confidentiality.
- It is for the Council to decide which of its officers works with Mrs A’s family, not the Ombudsman. Investigation by the Ombudsman would not achieve the outcome Mrs A wants.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mrs A may bring her concerns to the attention of the Information Commissioner, and investigation by the Ombudsman would not achieve the outcome she wants.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman