The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with a safeguarding concern raised about her. This is because further investigation is unlikely achieve a different outcome.
The complaint
Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of a safeguarding allegation made against her. She says the Council did not inform her of the allegation directly and that she only became aware of it through a third party. She says the Council shared information about her without her knowledge, did not give her an opportunity to respond, and failed to provide clear information about the allegation or any decisions made. Mrs X says she repeatedly sought information from the Council but received inadequate responses, causing her distress and damaging her professional reputation.
Mrs X wants the Council to apologise, explain what information it shared and why, correct any inaccuracies, confirm the outcome of the safeguarding process, and review its Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) procedures.
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: we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) 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 and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has now reviewed the handling of the matter through the LADO process. It accepted delays and shortcomings in its communication with Mrs X, apologised, agreed the original conclusion was reached prematurely, and confirmed the matter would remain open pending further investigation.
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because further investigation is unlikely to achieve a different outcome. The Council has already acknowledged shortcomings in its handling of the matter, apologised and confirmed Mrs X will have an opportunity to respond as part of a full investigation.
Mrs X also complains, the Council shared information about her with third parties without her knowledge. Mrs X disputes what information the Council shared, who received it, whether the information was accurate, and whether the Council should have disclosed it. As these concerns relate to the sharing and handling of personal information, it would be more appropriately considered by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). It is reasonable for Mrs X to raise this part of her complaint with the ICO.
Mrs X is also dissatisfied with the way the Council handled her complaint. However, it is not a good use of public resources for us to investigate complaint handling in isolation when we are not investigating the substantive issue.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because as further investigation is unlikely achieve a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman