Social Services data protection request

[KezT]

We have finally got hold of DS's file following our data protection request after social services massive screw up before Xmas - it took a few phone calls and a threat, but picked up the disc apparently containing ALL records held by the council today.

 

There was quite a lot of school stuff - I'd seen everything from his current school, nothing from his previous school, which was interesting.... Nothing too surprising though, other than the number of questions raised when he was 5 years old makes you wonder how come it was only when he moved schools at 7 years old that any kind of effort was made to DX Grrrr!

 

Anyway, there was a very small amount of stuff from social services, which is what I had really wanted to see. As it turns out, everything on there was correct (well, correct enough) but a whole load of contact's seem to be missing - these are mostly phone contacts made trying to get help/advise/info out of them. None have ever elicited any kind of response, and TBH I pretty much gave up hoping for SS involvement some time ago. BUT, I would've expected the calls to have been recorded!

 

What I was wondering is, is there any point in writing to ask where those reports are? I do not have definite dates or even number of calls made, and there is no proof that they were made But I know that i did make them!

[NobbyNobbs]

i would certainly query it. if not for you own benefit, these records are incredibly important to children at risk of harm. we cared for some children a little while ago whose files had been mislaid. when they finally tracked down the information (after the children were in care) they admitted that had they had all the information in one place the children would have been taken into care 4 years earlier, which would have protected them from some truly terrible things. there were over 40 calls recorded from people concerned advising the children were at risk, but they had been put in different places so there wasn't enough in any one place to tip the balance and start the ball rolling. exposing the error with regards to you son may well cause them to look at their system, and in turn help other children.

[call me jaded]

You could take it to a local councillor and ask them to investigate for you.