Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the accuracy of social care records. This is because the complainant has already complained to the Information Commissioner and achieved a remedy. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. Miss Y complains, on behalf of her son Mr X, that the Council recorded inaccurate information about him in his social care records.
2. Miss Y says she complained to the Office of the Information Commissioner (ICO). And the ICO asked the Council to append an extra note to Mr X’s records to show their disagreement with the Council’s records. However, Miss Y remains dissatisfied with the Council’s appended note and would like the Ombudsman to investigate.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss Y has already complained to the Information Commissioner which is the most suitable body to consider complaints about the accuracy of the Council’s record keeping.
7. However, as the Information Commissioner has told Miss Y, the records cannot be deemed factually inaccurate under data protection law as it concerns subjective opinion of social workers. So, apart from appending the records as already instructed by the ICO, an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to yield anything more so we will not investigate.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because she has already complained to the Information Commissioner, achieved a remedy and we are unlikely to achieve anything more.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman