Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council handled Mrs B’s personal data. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider a complaint.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complains the Council sent information about her and her partner to an NHS Trust without her consent. She says the Council lied about whether it had shared data and failed to report the data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and other organisations. Mrs B says when she objected the Council halted its safeguarding enquiry and refused to develop a safeguarding plan in line with the Care Act 2014. Mrs B feels the Council harassed her and victimised her. Mrs B says the Council should acknowledge its data breaches and report to the ICO and other organisations. She says the Council should prevent further harassment and put a safeguarding plan in place.

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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 normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mrs B complained to the Council about her experience after she had reported a safeguarding concern to the Council. She complained the Council had disclosed her and her partner’s personal data exposing them at risk. Mrs B said she wanted the safeguarding enquiry to be transferred to a different office and a written explanation of how the breach had occurred. She also wanted the Council to report the breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office and other organisations.
8. The Council responded to the complaint about the data protection issues. It explained why it had shared the data and referred to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). Following its response to different parts of
   Mrs B’s complaint the Council said if she was unhappy with the response she could complain to the Information Commissioner and provided contact details.
9. The Council says it has not yet considered a complaint about the complaint issues Mrs B raised which relate to its safeguarding procedures. It says it will consider a complaint if Mrs B consents to it investigating a complaint in line with its complaint procedures.
10. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about how the Council handled her personal data. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider a complaint about data protection and potential breaches relating to UK GDPR.
11. The Council has not investigated and replied to Mrs B’s complaint about the other issues she complains about such as the safeguarding concern. Mrs B should first complain to the Council about the other issues so it has an opportunity to investigate and reply. We can consider a complaint once she receives the Council’s final reply.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider the complaint about how the Council handled her personal data.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman