Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council suspending his company’s care contract and withholding payments. This is because the law prevents us from doing so. We will also not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council sharing information about his company with another party without his consent as there is another body better placed to consider such matters.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council unreasonably and without notification suspended his company’s care contract and withheld payments for services it had completed on behalf of the Council due to a pending investigation into his company. He also complained the Council shared confidential data about his company with a third party without consent. Mr X said it negatively affected his company financially and damaged its reputation. As part of his outcome, Mr X wants the Council to explain its reasons for suspending the contract and to release the payments for the services it has provided. He also wants the Council to apologise for sharing information without his consent and to implement service improvements to prevent a recurrence of fault.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about certain contractual or other commercial transactions. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5a, paragraph 3, as amended)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council suspending the contract and withholding payments for the services his company has completed. This is because as outlined in paragraph three of this decision statement, it is not in our jurisdiction to do so.
8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council sharing information with another party without his consent. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take this matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is a better body to look into alleged data breaches.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law prevents us from doing so. There is also another body better placed to consider other matters of his complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman