Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (23 017 461)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Mar 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to share Miss X’s personal information with a third party. This is because the complaint relates to a data breach and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is best placed to investigate this complaint.
The complaint
- Miss X complained the Council committed a data breach when it shared her personal information with a third party without her consent.
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 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 thi s complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X complained to the Council after a social worker disclosed her personal details to a third party without her consent. The Council investigated and upheld Miss X’s complaint. The Council apologised and confirmed the social worker would receive training regarding best practice when disclosing data protection. The Council also offered Miss X a £300 financial award for the distress caused by the incident. Miss X opted to refer the complaint to the Ombudsman, as she remained unhappy with the Council’s actions.
- The Ombudsman will not usually investigate complaints if there is a body who is better placed to deal with it. This complaint relates to a data protection breach, so it would be reasonable for Miss X to refer this complaint to the Information Commissioner’s office (ICO), as the ICO was set up to investigate complaints involving data protection.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the complaint relates to a data breach and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is best placed to investigate this complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman