Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Care Provider’s refusal to share documents with Mr X. The Information Commissioner’s Office is best placed to consider complaints about how organisations respond to requests for information.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about his mother’s (Mrs Y’s) discharge from hospital into the Council-commissioned care home. The Care Provider has refused to share its pre-discharge assessment and complaints procedure with Mr X. This has caused Mr X and his father distress and impacts their ability to understand events around Mrs Y’s discharge. Mr X wants the Care Provider to send him the documents.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider the complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
3. 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.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

6. Mr X’s complaint concerns events around his mother’s (Mrs Y’s) discharge from hospital into a care home. He raises complaints about the hospital which he may refer to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman after using the NHS trust’s complaints process.
7. In order to understand events fully to inform that complaint, Mr X wishes to see the Care Provider’s pre-discharge assessment report. He requested this from the Care Provider, but it refused the request and did not send him its complaints procedure when he asked for it.
8. The Information Commissioner’s Office considers complaints about how organisations respond to information requests. Mr X’s complaint about the Care Provider’s refusal to share the documents does not form part of a wider complaint that is within our jurisdiction, and the outcome he seeks is to be provided the documents. There is no reason that we should consider this complaint instead of the Information Commissioner, as it is best placed to deal with Mr X’s concerns.

Back to top

Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Information Commissioner’s Office is best placed to deal with complaints about an organisation’s response to an information request.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman