The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council submitted false information to the Agency Decision Maker, leading to the deregistration of the complainant as a foster carer, because investigation would achieve nothing significant.
The complaint
The complainant, Ms X, complains that she was deregistered as a foster carer on the basis of false information the Council submitted to the Agency Decision Maker (ADM).
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X was deregistered as a foster carer. She states that the Council submitted false information which was material to ADM’s decision. She referred the matter to the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM). Ms X also complained to the Council about the ADM’s decision. She stated that she wants all false information removed from her files. The Council has declined to accept her complaint.
The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because investigation would not achieve anything significant. The ADM’s decision has been considered by the IRM and it is not for the Ombudsman to reconsider it, or the evidence which led to it.
We will not ask a council to amend or remove the information on its files. This is the case even where it is subsequently shown to be false. We would expect a Council to place on record the complainant’s dissenting view. Ms X has made a formal complaint to the Council so her disagreement with the information is already on file and there is nothing further we would seek to achieve. If Ms X wants to pursue the correction or removal of information she regards as false, her recourse is to use her Right to Rectification. There is no role for us.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we would achieve nothing significant by doing so.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman