I have a question regarding Data Protection and SS

[QuestionMark]

Hello,

I see a lot of distressed parents on this group talk of social services producing lies in court, among which I am one. I imagine the majority of us have experience factual information being entered incorrectly and that we have evidence to prove that this is the case.

I keep thinking about it; anywhere else, if an individual had information about them wrongly entered, they'd be able to correct this information under data protection laws:
'(1)The controller must, if so requested by a data subject, rectify without undue delay inaccurate personal data relating to the data subject.
(2)Where personal data is inaccurate because it is incomplete, the controller must, if so requested by a data subject, complete it.' - this is just a small part of it.

So, can families whom have had incorrect data about them entered into family court have this rectified and corrected? If so, how? And if we can't, why? It's a law, afterall.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Questionmark

Thanks for your post regarding incorrect factual information entered in respect of documents that may have been filed at court.

A person who is in court proceedings has the opportunity to bring any inaccuracies to the attention of the judge whether in their written statement or oral evidence. Also, that person can ask the person preparing the document to make changes to factual inaccuracies although they cannot ask for a professional opinion to be changed.

If changes are not made then it is possible to make a formal complaint about the particular document and the incorrect factual information.
Where persons are represented in family court matters then they should ensure that their legal representatives are made aware of factual inaccuracies so they can receive appropriate advice and/or the matter is brought to the attention of the judge. If unrepresented, then the litigant in person should bring them to the attention of the judge.

Regarding data protection, if it is believed that there is inaccurate personal data and the organisation does not change it under their own data protection policy, it is open to the person concerned to bring the issue to the attention of the Information Commissioner who can provide appropriate advice. The telephone number for the Information Commissioner’s office is 0303 123 1113

I hope this helps.

Best wishes

Suzie

[Resolute1]

As a family as have experienced childrens services inaccurate recording of information and sharing of misinformation and indeed sharing of information not of relevance.

We have repeatedly challenged with simply no response. We have made no less than 3 complaints to the ico regarding them. The first forced them to update their assessment report to ensure it was accurate. We had challenged them since May 2018 through to Jan 2019 and they simply failed to respond. The second challenged their inaccurate notes held on file and we are yet to see the updated notes as we have not yet requested a further subject Access Request. The third complaint involved sharing personal information that was not necessary to share. The ICO has just requested an explanation from the CEO so we await an update.

Don't forget to request a subject access request. They are obliged by law to provide information on what is held in you. You must be specific in what information you want and dates between. Some information may be redacted ie names removed etc but it should provide minutes of meetings, lado minutes if appropriate, notes from assessment visits, supervision notes etc. If you ask for them.

That allows you to challenge inaccuracies.

We also have a second stage complaint with CS due to their handling, bullying tendencies and whitewash of the stage one complaint. We expect to go to stage three. If you do complain don't forget to send a copy to Ofsted to ensure complaints are logged for their next assessment.

So complain, complain complain in as many ways as possible and challenge if information is incorrect otherwise everyone will simply think what is recorded is correct and nothing will change.

Good luck!