Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of crematorium documentation. This is mainly because an investigation would be unlikely to achieve significantly more than the Council has already done or lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council cannot find paperwork that should have been in the cremation file of a deceased family member. He also complains the Council has refused to provide him with copies of internal investigation reports.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34(B))

3. 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.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. As the result of an incident concerning Mr X’s family member, the Council commissioned various internal and external reviews, which produced written reports. The Council explained to Mr X why it considers the reports are exempt from release and therefore why it could not give them to him. Complaints about freedom of information requests are more appropriately dealt with by the ICO so we will not investigate this part of Mr X’s complaint.
7. The Council admitted it could not establish what happened to the documents missing from the file of Mr X’s late relative and has reported this to the ICO. Following internal and external reviews the Council says it made changes to its processes. Since those changes, an external inspection found progress had been made and the crematorium is operating above expected standards. This does not answer Mr X’s questions about what happened to the missing documents and I appreciate this remains distressing for him. However, as the documents are missing, an investigation by us would be unlikely to establish what happened to them, achieve more on this point or lead to a different outcome.

Back to top

Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because any investigation by us would not achieve more significantly more than the Council has already done or lead to a different outcome. The ICO is better placed to deal with his complaint about freedom of information.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman