Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs B’s late complaint about a data breach by Council officers. This is because we would expect Mrs B to refer her concerns to the Information Commissioner.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs B, complained about a data breach by two of the Council’s officers which she became aware of in March 2016.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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

5. I have considered the information Mrs B provided and given her an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

6. Mrs B did not bring her complaint to us in time. We can consider late complaints if there are good reasons to do so. I have decided not to exercise discretion to consider Mrs B’s complaint. That is because we normally expect people to refer complaints about breaches of data protection to the Information Commissioner. We would expect Mrs B to refer her concerns to the Information Commissioner because the Information Commissioner has specific powers and expertise to consider data protection matters.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman will not investigate this late complaint. This is because we would expect Mrs B to refer her concerns to the Information Commissioner.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman