Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the way the Council responded to his requests for information and his subsequent complaints. It is reasonable to expect Mr B to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains the Council failed to adequately respond to his enquiries about CCTV footage it provided him with. Mr B says the Council have not provided him with scientific proof of why the transparent glass of the car appeared opaque in the CCTV. Mr B is also unhappy with the way the Council responded to his complaints about the matter and he says the Council have not responded in line with its procedure.

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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 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mr B provided. I sent Mr B a draft decision and invited his comments before I made a final decision.

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What I found

5. Mr B made a request to the Council for CCTV footage and he received it in January 2019. He wrote to the Council with concerns about the footage he received. Mr B said the footage did not accurately represent what took place because the car in the footage showed opaque windows, when in fact the car had transparent windows. Mr B is not satisfied with the Council’s explanation to his enquiries and the fact it didn’t provide him with scientific proof of why the car windows showed as opaque. Mr B also says the Council failed to respond to his stage 2 complaint within 20 working days as stated in its procedure.
6. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is an independent authority that deals with complaints about how public authorities’ handle data.
7. It is reasonable to expect Mr B to refer his complaint to the ICO. Mr B has concerns with the data the Council provided him with and the ICO is better placed to decide if the Council has failed to comply with its duties under data protection. There is no charge for making a complaint to the ICO and its complaints procedure is relatively easy to use.
8. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the way the Council has considered his complaints. Mr B says this is his main issue. However, this stems from how the Council responded to his requests for information which is the substantive issue. Where the substantive matters do not themselves warrant investigation, the Ombudsman will not normally consider how the Council has responded to a complaint about them. That is the case here.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint. The ICO is better placed to consider complaints about data handling and responses to requests for information.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman