Devon County Council (26 003 108)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 May 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about a Freedom of Information request and the Council’s refusal to accept her complaint about its use of a software system. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider a complaint about access to information and there is insufficient evidence of fault.
The complaint
- Ms X complains the Council did not provide a full response to her Freedom of Information request and has refused to consider her complaint about its use of a software system under its complaints policy.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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))
- The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) 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.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s response to her Freedom of Information request. It is reasonable for her to refer this matter to the ICO, who is better placed to consider this complaint.
- We will also not investigate the Council’s decision not to accept her complaint about its use of a software system under its complaints policy. Its decision appears in line with its published policy. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider her complaint about access to information and there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision not to accept her complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman