Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council has dealt with Mr Y’s information request. The Information Commissioner’s Office is best placed to deal with the complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr Y, complains the Council has failed to respond to his request for information within 20 days.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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.

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered what Mr Y said in his complaint.

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What I found

4. Mr Y complains the Council has not responded to his request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (the Act) within 20 days.
5. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights. It deals with complaints about failures to comply with the Act.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate as the ICO is best placed to deal with this complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman