Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a request to amend information the Council holds about Miss X. The Information Commissioner is best placed to consider the matter.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council recorded information about her which was not correct, and this has subsequently been copied to other documents including a court report. Miss X said the matter has caused her significant distress, impacted on the court’s decision and on the support her family receives. She wanted the Council to remove the incorrect statement from its records, provide help for the family and for officers to be held accountable for defamation of character.

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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 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 the complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Miss X’s complaint is about the Council having recorded information about her, which she believes was taken from another person’s record. She says the information has subsequently impacted the support her family receive and has been included in reports the Council produced as part of court proceedings.
6. The Council has dealt with Miss X’s complaint as a right to rectification request under the General Data Protection Regulation. The Information Commissioner is the body that deals with complaints about how organisations handle personal data. The Information Commissioner is best placed to consider Miss X’s complaint and to require the Council to rectify the information, if appropriate.
7. There is not a reason for us to consider the matter instead, and it is open to
   Miss X to contact the Information Commissioner should the Council decline to rectify the data it holds about her.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the Information Commissioner is best placed to consider the matter.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman