Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council was at fault in passing information about her to the health service without her consent. This is because there is no prospect that investigation would find fault on the Council’s part.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains that the Council was at fault in passing information about her to the health service without her consent.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. The Council received a referral from a third party regarding Miss X and her partner. The Council decided the information should be passed to the health service. It asked for Miss X’s consent to do so, which she did not give. It decided to pass the information on anyway.
7. Miss X says the Council should not have been passed to the health service as the concerns which gave rise to the referral were misplaced, the information itself was inaccurate, and she withheld consent.
8. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. There is no prospect that investigation would conclude the Council was wrong to pass the information on. The significance the Council gave to the referral is a matter for the professional judgement of its officers. The Council has explained why it felty it was appropriate to alert the health service and the reasons it has given are defensible. It is not for the Ombudsman to question its judgement or intervene to substitute an alternative view.
9. We will not take a view on whether the Council was entitled to share the information without consent. Miss X may bring this matter to the attention of the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is better placed than the Ombudsman to consider it.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we would not question the Council’s decision to pass the information to the health service and there is therefore no prospect that we would find fault on its part.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman