Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (19 018 813)
Category : Other Categories > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 17 Mar 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Miss X complains the Council lied to her in response to an information request she made to it. This has been addressed by the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Ombudsman cannot add to what it has already said. The Ombudsman will not therefore investigate.
The complaint
- Miss X complains the Council lied to her in response to an information request she made to it.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Miss X said in her complaint. I have written to Miss X with my draft decision on the complaint and given her the chance to comment.
What I found
- The Council has restricted Miss X’s contact with it to a single point of contact. Miss X asked the Council about who else the Council had placed this restriction on. Miss X complains the Council lied in its response when it said it had restricted contact by other people, including men and private households.
- Miss X asked the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to check the information the Council provided. Miss X says this has proved the Council lied and that it has only imposed this restriction on her; a female, council tenant.
- Miss X has made an additional complaint to us about the current status of the contact restrictions the Council has imposed on her. This is being assessed separately.
Assessment
- The ICO has dealt with Miss X’s complaint and we cannot add to this. We will not therefore investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- My decision is that the Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because the matter has been addressed by the ICO and we cannot add to this. Miss X will receive a separate decision on her complaint about the current status of the contact restrictions the Council has imposed on her.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman