London Borough of Newham (24 012 090)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 10 Oct 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about a data breach because Mr B may complain to the Information Commissioner. It is reasonable for Mr B to challenge the Council’s council tax decision by putting in an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr B complains the Council wrongly shared his email address with a third party which was a breach of his personal data. Mr B also complains the Council has wrongly classified a property he owns as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) for council tax purposes.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The Act says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
- The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr B.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr B may complain to the Information Commissioner about the Council sharing his email address with a third party. The Information Commissioner is in the best position to decide a complaint about a data breach.
- As advised by the Council, Mr B may put in an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal against the Council’s classification of his property as a HMO for council tax purposes.
- This is the process set out in law to challenge this decision and it is the role of the tribunal, not the Ombudsman, to decide such disputes. I find it is reasonable for Mr B to put in an appeal.
- So, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- For the above reasons, we will not investigate this complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman