Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to respond to her request for information about her brother’s funeral. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office is the appropriate body to consider her concerns.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council has not responded to her request for information about her brother’s funeral.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) 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 Miss X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information she provided. I also gave Miss X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on her complaint.

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What I found

5. Miss X has submitted a request for information to the Council. It has said it will deal with her request under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act – but it has not yet responded.
6. The ICO is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights. It deals with complaints about public authorities’ failures to comply with data protection legislation. This includes a failure to disclose information someone is entitled to, and how public bodies have dealt with FOI requests.
7. There is no charge for making a complaint to the ICO, and its complaints procedure is relatively easy to use. Where someone has a complaint about data protection, the Ombudsman usually expects them to bring the matter to the attention of the ICO. This is because the ICO is in a better position than the Ombudsman to consider such complaints. I consider that to be the case here. If Miss X is unhappy with the way the Council has dealt with her request for information, she should contact the ICO. The ICO can decide what information Miss X is entitled to, and if the Council has correctly dealt with her request. These are not decisions the ICO can take.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office is the appropriate body to consider her concerns.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman