Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to provide him with information about his mother, Mrs B. This is because the Ombudsman could not say this is fault and it would be reasonable for Mr A to ask the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if he can have access to information he believes he is entitled to but is being refused.

The complaint

1. Mr A says the Council should continue to provide him with regular updates about his mother’s, Mrs B’s, health and wellbeing as it used to do. Mr A says he lives abroad and is concerned about Mrs B’s mental health and age-related illnesses and wants the Council to let him know how she is.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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 the information and documentation Mr A and the Council provided. I sent Mr A a copy of my draft decision and considered his comments on it.

Back to top

What I found

5. Mr A says the Council used to provide him with regular updates about Mrs B but has stopped doing this. The Council says Mrs B does not want her personal information given to Mr A so cannot given him the information he wants.
6. Personal information is protected by General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) legislation and the Ombudsman could not say the Council is at fault for not providing Mr A with the information he wants. If Mr A believes he is entitled to information about Mrs B the Council is refusing to give him, he can ask the ICO to consider his complaint and it would be reasonable for him to do so.

Back to top

Final decision

7. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Ombudsman could not say there is any fault with the actions taken by the Council and it would be reasonable for Mr A to ask the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if he can have access to information he believes he is entitled to but is being refused.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman