Is it illegal for social workers to alter / tamper / conceal / destroy any paper work, statements or records or anything of the like, that may be used for the purpose of misleading the family courts

The request was partially successful.

Dear Information Commissioner’s Office,

Is it illegal for social workers to alter / tamper / conceal / destroy any paper work, statements or records or anything of the like, that may be used for the purpose of misleading the family courts

a) cover up suspected child abuse
b) cover up social work failures
c) set up / entrap an innocent parent(s)

If so what laws have been broken and what action can parents take to prosecute?
What councils / social workers have been found guilty by the ICO of the above or similar offenses and what action was taken?

What precautions can parents take to avoid false reports or statements made by social workers (i.e is it legal to record meetings)

Yours faithfully,

Bob BIbby

AccessICOinformation, Information Commissioner's Office

Thank you for contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office. We confirm
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Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.org.uk

References

Visible links
1. http://ico.org.uk/about_us/how_we_comply
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/tools_and_resource...
3. http://www.twitter.com/ICOnews

Information Commissioner's Office

1 December 2015

 

Case Reference Number IRQ0604560

 

Dear Mr Bibby,

Request for Information
 
We are now in a position to respond to your correspondence to the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) received on 8 November 2015, which
includes an information request.
 
We have dealt with your request in accordance with your ‘right to know’
under section 1(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
 
Request
 
You asked for the following information:
 
“Is it illegal for social workers to alter / tamper / conceal / destroy
any paper work, statements or records or anything of the like, that may be
used for the purpose of misleading the family courts

a) cover up suspected child abuse
b) cover up social work failures
c) set up / entrap an innocent parent(s)

If so what laws have been broken and what action can parents take to
prosecute?

What councils / social workers have been found guilty by the ICO of the
above or similar offenses and what action was taken?

What precautions can parents take to avoid false reports or statements
made by social workers (i.e is it legal to record meetings)”

Response
 
In response to your request for: “What councils / social workers have been
found guilty by the ICO of the above or similar offenses and what action
was taken?”
 
It may be helpful to explain that both the FOIA and the Data Protection
Act 1998 (the DPA) contain sanctions that allow for criminal prosecution
where a criminal offence or breach of the legislation has occurred.  
 
Having considered the context of your request it would appear that you are
interested in criminal prosecutions, particularly those under section 77
of the FOIA, where it is an offence, if an information request has been
made to a public authority (such as a council), for a person to alter,
deface, block, erase, destroy or conceal any record held by that public
authority with the intention of preventing its disclosure. You may also be
interested in offences under section 55 of the DPA where it is an offence
to unlawfully obtain and disclose personal data without the consent of a
data controller.   
 
We publish information about recent regulatory action taken by the ICO on
our website. Please use the link below to search and locate information
about criminal prosecutions. You can narrow the search criteria by
selecting a sector, for example the sector ‘local government’ would cover
councils.    
 
[1]https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/enf...
 
In response to your questions relating to potential social work failings
“what laws have been broken and what action can parents take to
prosecute?” and “What precautions can parents take to avoid false reports
or statements made by social workers (i.e is it legal to record meetings)”
we do not hold any information and would advise that you seek independent
legal advice.  
 
I hope this response is helpful.
 
Review Procedure
 
If you are dissatisfied with this response and wish to request a review of
our decision or make a complaint about how your request has been handled
you should write to the Information Access Team at the address below or
email [2][ICO request email].
 
Your request for internal review should be submitted to us within 40
working days of receipt by you of this response. Any such request received
after this time will only be considered at the discretion of the
Commissioner.
 
A copy of our review procedure can be accessed from our website.  
 
[3]https://ico.org.uk/media/about-the-ico/p...
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
Aideen Oakes
Lead Information Access Officer

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire SK9 5AF
 
Please consider the environment before printing this email
 
For information requests please use [4][ICO request email]
 
 
 
 

 
 

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.org.uk

References

Visible links
1. https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/enf...
2. mailto:[ICO request email]
3. https://ico.org.uk/media/about-the-ico/p...
4. mailto:[ICO request email]