A report from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) had several factual errors about Ms T and her partner. Cafcass's complaint handling did not identify the errors.
What happened
Ms T complained about the service she received from a Cafcass officer. She also said that a report contained incorrect information about her and her current partner. Ms T felt the officer may have had a personal reason for disliking her partner. Ms T complained to Cafcass, but its review of her complaint did not show the factual errors.
What we found
We partly upheld this complaint. The Cafcass officer had misinterpreted some information another organisation had given her. This created some factual errors in the officer's report. The level of accuracy fell far below the expected standard.
Cafcass's complaint handling did not acknowledge these errors and missed the opportunity to resolve the matter at an earlier stage. Its response also did not fully address Ms T's concerns that the officer might know a person from her partner's past. This had caused a personal issue with her partner.
While we found no evidence to support Ms T's concerns, Cafcass's response on this point could have been clearer.
While Ms T claimed that Cafcass's errors had exposed her and her partner to a risk of harassment, which caused her to relocate, there was no evidence to support this. However, Cafcass's errors had been unhelpful and upsetting to Ms T.
Putting it right
Cafcass apologised to Ms T for the factual errors in the report and for its complaint handling.
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass)
UK
Not applicable
Apology