The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council recorded and shared inaccurate information in a report to the courts and failed to respond to the Information Commissioner’s request for information. The law prevents us from investigating what happens in court, including the preparation and contents of court ordered reports. The Information Commissioner is better placed to deal with how the Council responds to its requests for information.
The complaint
Mr X complains that the Council recorded inaccurate information in a report and then shared it without his consent. Mr X says he has raised this with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) but the Council has failed to respond to them. He also complains about how the Council dealt with his complaints about these matters.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended) 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
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council compiled a Section 7 report. This is a court-ordered report, to assist the judge in making decisions about the welfare of children.
I cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the preparation or contents of the report because the law prevents us from investigating what happened in court, which includes the content of reports a council submits as part of proceedings.
I will not investigate how the Council dealt with requests for information from the ICO. This is because this is a matter best dealt with by the ICO as part of its consideration of Mr X’s complaint.
It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating what happens in court, including the preparation and contents of court ordered reports. The Information Commissioner is better placed to deal with how the Council responds to its requests for information.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman