Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s loss of records from when she was in care. This is because we could not now achieve a worthwhile outcome, and the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider her concerns about information handling.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council has lost her records from when she was in foster care from 1989-1999. She says she felt neglected while in care. Ms X has unanswered questions about her childhood because she cannot access her records. Ms X says this has caused her distress and she feels isolated and worthless.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

4. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Ms X’s complaint is about events which date back 25 years. We cannot know when the records she has asked for may have been lost or damaged. So even if we began to investigate such historical matters, we could not do so effectively or now achieve any worthwhile outcome due to the known lack of records. We will not therefore start an investigation.
8. At the heart of Ms X’s complaint is how the Council dealt with her records. The ICO is best placed to consider this issue. It can decide if the Council has failed in its duty as a data controller. It has wider powers than the Ombudsman to act if it finds fault with how a Council has handled someone’s personal records. It is therefore in a much better position than we are to consider Ms X’s complaint.
9. Ms X has also mentioned in her complaint compensation for what happened to her and for the effect of the loss of records about it. That is properly a matter for a court, which can decide whether the Council should be liable to her in a way we cannot.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the ICO is better placed to consider the Council’s information handling, and an investigation by the Ombudsman could not achieve a worthwhile outcome for Ms X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman