Summary: Mr X complains the Council has not fully responded to a Freedom of Information request he submitted about the commitments it has made to tackling climate change. He wants to find out why it has not met its commitments, specifically why it has not appointed an officer with climate change responsibilities. To rectify the situation, he wants it to acknowledge its shortcomings and commit to meeting its planned climate change targets in the future. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the parts of it are either out of our jurisdiction or should be referred to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall refer to as Mr X, complains the Council has not fully responded to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request he submitted about the commitments it has made to tackling climate change. He wants to find out why it has not met its commitments, specifically why it has not appointed an officer with climate change responsibilities. To rectify the situation, he wants it to acknowledge its shortcomings and commit to meeting its planned climate change targets in the future.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about a personnel issue. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5a, paragraph 4, as amended)
5. 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

6. I considered the information submitted by Mr X and provided him with an opportunity to comment on my draft decision

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What I found

7. Mr X states the Council has not had an officer with climate change responsibilities in post for five years. He says he discovered this when it responded to his FoI request. He says he then requested an appeal about the lack of information provided by the Council in response to his FoI request but states it has not responded to this.
8. He says the Council is legally required to contribute to climate strategy and show a reduction in carbon emissions, but questions how it can do this if it has not appointed an officer to oversee its climate change responsibilities. In particular, he wants to know if it has kept the commitments it outlined in its Carbon Management Plan.

Analysis

9. The law says we cannot investigate any matter which affects all or most people in a council’s area. It also says we cannot investigate a complaint about personnel issues, which includes the appointment or employment of Council officers.
10. Mr X’s complaint is about the Council’s approach to climate change, a matter which affects all of the people living in its area. It is also about its decision not to appoint an officer to oversee its climate change responsibilities. Consequently, the law dictates I cannot investigate these matters.
11. Mr X also complains the Council has not responded to his request for an appeal about the way it handled his FoI request, stating the information it provided was lacking. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) considers complaints about freedom of information, which includes concerns about how an organisation has handled a FoI request. Consequently, I will not investigate this part of Mr X’s complaint. This is because the ICO is best placed to deal with the matter and Mr X should contact this organisation if he wants to pursue it.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the parts of it are either out of our jurisdiction or should be referred to the ICO.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman