Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about an inaccuracy in the Council’s records. The Council accepted this and corrected the error, which is sufficient to remedy the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Miss X said the Council included faulty information about her past in a document, causing her time, trouble, and stress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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:

• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.
  (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

4. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
5. Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), we will share this decision with Ofsted.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I read Miss X’s complaint and the Council’s responses. I gave Miss X an opportunity to comment on a draft decision.

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What I found

7. Miss X objected to a statement in a document the Council wrote to prepare for legal proceedings. The Council accepted this was wrong, apologised, and confirmed it had corrected the statement in the document and told those it had previously sent the incorrect information.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council’s actions following the error are sufficient remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman