The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an assessment carried out by the Council. This is because we could achieve nothing significant by doing so.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will refer to as Ms B, complains that the Council was at fault in its use of false information about her in an assessment, and in its response to her subsequent complaint.
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 effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (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
Ms B complains about the content of a single assessment the Council produced. She was not a party to the assessment and was not consulted about its content, despite being mentioned in it. She complains that the information the Council shared about her was inadequate. She further complains that the Council declined to amend the assessment and that it has failed to address breaches of data protection.
The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because there is nothing to be gained by doing so. We will not ask a council to amend an assessment because it forms part of the case file and reflects the council’s understanding at the time it was produced. The most we would normally seek to achieve is that a council agrees to place a record of the complainant’s dissenting views on the file. The evidence shows the Council has already offered to do so. There is therefore no role for the Ombudsman.
If Ms B wishes to address the alleged inaccuracies, she may pursue her legal right to rectification. If she believes the Council has breached her confidentiality. she may bring her concerns to the attention of the Information Commissioner, who is better placed than the Ombudsman to consider them.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because we could achieve nothing significant by doing so.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman