Summary: Ms X complains about the Council’s delay in responding to the Subject Access Requests she made concerning her and her family. We will not investigate the complaint because the Information Commissioner is the body best placed to deal with such a complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, complains about the Council’s delay in responding to the Service Access Requests (SARs) she made concerning her and her family in May 2020. She says this has had an enormous impact upon them.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 the complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
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. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Ms X and the Council. I gave Ms X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. In May 2020 Ms X made a SAR to the Council. As the request had still not been responded to by the beginning of October, Ms X complained to the Council.
6. The Council responded under the three stages of its complaints procedure. At the final stage response sent in January 2021, the Council apologised for its delay and acknowledged it had not met the statutory timescale for responding. It also apologised for its communication with Ms X and acknowledged that it should have kept her updated without her having to ask for updates.

Assessment

7. Ms X’s complaint concerns the Council’s response to her SARs. As matters concerning the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation are best dealt with by the Information Commissioner, we will not investigate the complaint.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Information Commissioner is the body best placed to deal with such a complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman