Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about her requests to the Council for records and information. This is because there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the actions of the Council in relation to contact records and information connected to supervised contact sessions involving her children.
2. Miss X says the Council failed to provide complete contact notes, did not confirm which records existed or remained outstanding, and failed to adequately respond to requests for information relating to records held by its contact provider. She also complains about the Council’s complaint handling.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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))

4. We will not usually investigate complaint handling if we are not investigating the rest of the complaint. This is because there is not usually enough injustice to justify us doing so. We collect information about particularly poor complaint handling practice and report this back to organisations. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34B(8))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

7. Miss X says she has been asking the Council for contact notes since 2025. She reports the Council has acknowledged a backlog of notes and apologised for its delays. She complains the Council failed to provide an inventory showing what records existed, what had been supplied and what remains outstanding.
8. We will not investigate. The complainant seeks disclosure of records, confirmation of what information exists, explanations for missing information and assurance that records have been properly maintained and preserved. These matters fall within the remit of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), and it is better placed to consider this complaint. The ICO has specific powers and expertise to consider whether a body has complied with its obligations concerning records and personal information. It has powers to require organisations to take appropriate action where necessary.
9. Miss X has also raised concerns about the Council’s complaint handling. Given the core issues relate to matters the ICO is better placed to consider, I consider there is insufficient evidence of injustice to justify looking at the complaints process as a stand-alone issue. So, we will not look at Miss X’s complaint about the complaints process.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is another body better placed to consider her core complaint. And we will not look at the complaints process when we are not looking at the underlying complaint.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman