Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council responded to a Freedom of Information request in 2017. This is because the Information Commissioner is better placed to deal with the complaint and because the events complained about happened too long ago. We also cannot achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss C, complains about how the Council responded to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request that her solicitor made in 2017. Miss C says the Council failed to provide the information requests which impeded her legal action against a private company.

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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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

3. 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.
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered Miss C’s complaints and the Council’s responses. I sent Miss C a draft version of this decision and invited her comments.

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What I found

6. In 2017, Miss C’s was had an accident and feels a private company was liable for her injuries. She reported the matter to the Council’s trading standards team and started legal proceedings against the private company.
7. In April 2017, Miss C’s solicitor made a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to the Council, in relation to trading standards involvement in the matter. The Council provided a response and subsequently carried out a review of the request. It advised Miss C of her right to complain to the Information Commissioner about its responses.
8. Miss C complained to us in 2017 but was advised she would first need to complete the Council’s complaints procedure before we could investigate. Miss C complained to the Council, and it issued a final response to her in April 2018, in which it told her she could raise her complaint with the Ombudsman.
9. Miss C complains that the Council failed to provide a full response to the FoI request her solicitor made in 2017 and this had impeded her legal action against the private company. Miss C says the Council should instruct the private company to accept liability for her injuries and consumer laws should be changed.

Assessment

10. I will not investigate Miss C’s complaint about how the Council responded to her FoI request. This is because she can complain to the Information Commissioner who is better placed to investigate such complaints.
11. Furthermore, the events Miss C complains about happened too long ago. She was advised she could raise her complaint with us some three years ago. Therefore, I see no reason why she could not have complained sooner.
12. Finally, I cannot achieve the outcome Miss C seeks. The Council does not have the authority to instruct a private company to accept liability and concede its case in court. Nor does the Council have the power to introduce new consumer laws.

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Final decision

13. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because Miss C can raise her complaint with the Information Commissioner and because the events happened too long ago. We are also unable to achieve the outcome she seeks.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman