London Borough of Waltham Forest (22 009 425)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a request for information. This is because the Complainant has complained to the Information Commissioner who is best placed to deal with the matter.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains that the Council has failed to provide him copies of information that he requested under a Subject Access Request. Mr X says he and his family are living in unsuitable accommodation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In 2020, the Ombudsman investigated a complaint from Mr X about how the Council considered medical evidence, when deciding his priority for social housing. Our investigation found that the Council had asked a medical advice company to assess Mr X evidence. Mr X has since submitted a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the Council and asked it to provide copies of the assessment but is dissatisfied with its responses.
- I will not comment further on how the Council considered the assessment from the medical advice company when assessing Mr X’s social housing priority this is because this has previously been considered by the Ombudsman. If Mr X is unhappy with how the Council has dealt with his housing priority recently, he will need to raise a new complaint with the Council.
- I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council responded to his SAR. This is because he has complained about this matter to the Information Commissioner, who is best placed to deal with such matters.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has complained to the Information Commissioner who is best placed to deal with the matter.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman