Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about concerns he raised about his children’s school. We have already considered these matters and will not do so again. The Information Commissioner is better placed to deal with other matters.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s involvement in a complaint he made to his children’s school. Mr X also says the Council has breached General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by not ensuring that information it holds is accurate and that it has not properly responded to his requests for information and his complaints about these matters.

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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 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. We previously dealt with a complaint from Mr X about the Council’s involvement with a complaint he made about concerns he raised regarding his children’s school, and we will not consider this again.
7. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is best placed to consider Mr X’s concerns that the Council is holding and sharing inaccurate information and how it has dealt with his requests for information.
8. I will not investigate how the Council has dealt with Mr X’s complaints about these matters. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we have previously considered a complaint from Mr X relating to his children’s school and will not do so again. The ICO is better placed to consider his complaint about data protection matters.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman