East Lindsey District Council (25 011 115)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 18 Nov 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about data protection because this is a matter for the Information Commissioner. The complaint about liability could reasonably have been appealed to a Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- Ms X complains about the Council’s misuse of her personal data and the Council’s delay in determining her complaint about Council tax liability.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law 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.
- 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.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X says that she was wrongly pursued for Council tax when she was not liable. She says that the Council misused her personal data which led to breaches of data protection.
- I note that the liability dispute has been resolved. Nevertheless, she had a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal if she was unhappy with the Council’s decision on this matter. The tribunal is an independent body which can determine any dispute about such decisions. I see no reason why an appeal could not be made in this case and so the complaint is out of jurisdiction.
- The Information Commissioner is the correct body to deal with complaints about misuse or breaches of data and so this matter is not for the Ombudsman.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because this is a matter for the Information Commissioner and could have been appealed to a Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman