Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision, in response to her freedom of information request, not to disclose the accounts and an internal audit report relating to a Council-funded event. The Information Commissioner’s Office is the body best placed to consider and decide this matter. It would be reasonable for Mrs X to pursue the matter with that office.

The complaint

1. Mrs X wants to see the Council’s full accounts and financial audit report on the funding of a Council event. She made a freedom of information (FOI) request to the Council, asking to see the report. The Council refused, citing ‘commercial interests’ and ‘public interest’ exemptions.
2. Mrs X complains about the Council’s decision not to disclose to her all the information she requested in her FOI. Her claimed injustice is that she has not been able to see the accounts and audit report. Mrs X wants the Council to disclose the requested information.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
4. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) considers complaints about FOI. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about FOI, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the ICO.

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How I considered this complaint

5. As part of my assessment I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mrs X;
• issued a draft decision, inviting Mrs X to reply.

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What I found

6. Mrs X’s complaint is about the Council declining to disclose the information she asked for in her FOI request. It would be reasonable for Mrs X to raise this complaint with the ICO because the ICO deals with complaints about organisations’ information practices under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It is the body created by national government to deal with these issues, including whether an organisation’s decision not to supply information requested in an FOI request is compliant.
7. The ICO can decide whether or not the Council was correct in its response to Mrs X’s FOI. She may wish to approach the ICO to pursue the matter, if she has not already done so. I note the Council referred Mrs X to the ICO in response to her complaint earlier this year.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because:
• the ICO is the body best placed to decide whether the Council has a duty to disclose to Mrs X the information she requested in her FOI; and
• it would be reasonable for Mrs X to refer her concerns to the ICO.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman