Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to Mr X’s freedom of information request. It is reasonable for him to complain to the office of the Information Commissioner which is the proper authority to consider information access complaints.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to disclose all the information which it holds about him following his subject access request. He says he received some information but some of it was redacted and he wants to see the full documents.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So, where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mr X says the Council holds details about his past involvement with the children’s social care service. He submitted a subject access request to the Council to obtain the information. The Council sent him copies of the information which it holds but some of the documents were redacted, blanking some details of the text.
6. The Council says this is because it is required under the Data Protection Act 2018 to prevent the disclosure of information relating to third parties and cannot do so without their consent. The Council also told Mr X that it does not hold some of the information he requested because it relates to NHS health records.
7. Mr X made a formal complaint about the decision on his request. The Council did not uphold his complaint and advised him to take the matter to the Information Commissioner which is the body responsible for dealing with complaints about information access. This was the correct procedure to follow with regard to complaints about information access.
8. It is reasonable for Mr X to take his complaint to Information Commissioner. We will not investigate where there is an alternative remedy available to a tribunal which it is reasonable for the complainant to pursue.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to Mr X’s freedom of information request. It is reasonable for him to complain to the office of the Information Commissioner which is the proper authority to consider information access complaints.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman