Bristol City Council (23 006 973)
Category : Environment and regulation > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 12 Sep 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to Mr X’s request for information about fly tipping as this is best dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The complaint
- Mr X complained to the Council about an increase in fly tipping in his area and does not feel the Council’s response is adequate in that it has not provided data about how its measures are tackling this problem or details of its specific plans to deal with fly tipping, and waste connected to houses in multiple occupation. Mr X is depressed about fly tipping in his area and the impact of this on house prices.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The Information Commissioner's Office 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
- Mr X says the Council has not provided information he requested from it in respect of evidence that its cameras are improving fly tipping in his area and data which shows how often fly tipping is actively being cleared away. Mr X also says it has not provided copies of its plans to tackle fly tipping, and waste from houses in multiple occupation.
- The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK's independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest. If Mr X considers the Council has not provided information to him that he is entitled to then he can complain to the ICO about this and it will assess the Council's actions in this regard. It is best place to do this, and as such we will not investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is best dealt with by the ICO.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman