Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s response to his request to make a correction to his birth certificate. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has refused to support him to make a formal correction to his birth certificate. He says this has caused distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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

3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X asked the Council to support him to correct a mistake on his birth certificate. The Council told Mr X that to do this, he would need to provide evidence that his parents intended to name him differently at or around the time of his birth, to prove there had been a mistake. It said the Council would not have copies of any letter sent to it by his parents at that time, as its registry offices only kept correspondence related to birth entries for five years.
7. Mr X says he does not have any evidence as it has been either misplaced or destroyed over the years.
8. We will not investigate this complaint as there is insufficient evidence of fault. The Council cannot consider a correction to a birth certificate without evidence that there was a mistake made at the time the birth was registered. As the person requesting the correction, the responsibility lies with Mr X to provide that evidence. In the absence of appropriate evidence, it is reasonable for the Council to refuse to consider a correction. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman