Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about inaccurate children services records. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed.

The complaint

1. Miss X says the Council holds inaccurate children services’ records which an officer falsified.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. In the summer of 2023 Miss X says she complained to the Council’s children services team. She says the Council’s records were wrong. She says this included a social worker saying they had visited her home when that was not the case. The Council replied in September 2023. It said it would investigate and update her.
7. In August 2024, the Council confirmed it had completed its investigations and upheld her complaint. It said it had rectified her records, but provided no detail of how. It said it had reported its investigation findings to Social Work England.
8. Miss X says she wanted to use the Councils records in a Court case but was unable to do so because of the inaccuracies.

Analysis

9. Miss X has the right under the data protection laws, to ask records are ‘rectified’. This means any factual errors are corrected. If the Council refuses to do so, she 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 are better placed than us to consider if the Council should change its records particularly because there are complex exemptions for child protection case files. Miss X can request the amended records, if they are not provided or are still inaccurate she can approach the ICO.
10. Our role is to investigate the actions of the Council as a corporate body, not to hold a single officer accountable. If Miss X has concerns about the professionalism or integrity of an individual social worker, it is reasonable to expect her to report her concerns to their professional body, Social Work England (SWE).

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the ICO and SWE are better placed.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman