Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s issue of a Community Protection Notice and its publication of information relating to his case. Mr X has appealed against the Notice and if he has concerns about information published by the Council he should take the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office and may claim compensation through the courts.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council wrongly served him a Community Protection Notice (CPN) in response to his neighbour’s reports of antisocial behaviour. He says this has affected his reputation and caused him stress and anxiety.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6), 34B(8) and 26(6)(c), as amended)
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 reviewed the information provided by Mr X, including the details of his complaint and the Council’s responses. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and considered his comments.

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What I found

5. The Council served Mr X a CPN based on information and evidence submitted to it by the police. Mr X complains it did not properly investigate the case before serving the CPN and that the matter has caused him reputational damage. He appealed against the CPN firstly to the magistrates’ court and then to the crown court and says the matter has caused him stress and anxiety. He believes the Council has acted with bias, discriminated against him and breached his human rights. He also complains the Council published information about the case which was incorrect, that it harassed him and has refused his claim for compensation.
6. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. The substantive issue concerns the Council’s decision to serve Mr X a CPN and Mr X has appealed against this. We therefore retain no jurisdiction to investigate any complaint about the Council’s issue of the notice or its handling of this case.
7. Mr X may report any concerns he has about the Council’s handling of his personal information to the Information Commissioner’s Office and if he wants compensation for reputational damage he says results from the Council’s publication of information relating to his case, he may take the matter to court.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X has appealed against the CPN and the courts have considered its validity as part of his appeal. We cannot provide a further remedy for him and any concerns over the publication of information relating to his case are more appropriate for the Information Commissioner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman