Derbyshire County Council (22 006 879)
Category : Other Categories > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 11 Oct 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s failure to deal with Subject Access Request. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is reasonable for Mr X to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office as the most appropriate authority for his complaint.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the Council’s failure to provide records relating to his family. He says he lost an opportunity at court to challenge the Council’s views as he was unaware of these records.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X wishes to check the contents of a report relied on in court by Council staff relating to his family. He says the Council has failed to provide him with a copy so he would now like to check its social care records.
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is reasonable for Mr X to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). This is because the ICO is the body with specific powers and expertise to investigate the Council’s information handling practices and achieve Mr X’s desired outcomes.
- The Information Commissioner’s Officer has powers - which the Ombudsman does not - to require compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations and the UK General Data Protection Regulations, tailored by the Data Protection Act 2018. It can consider whether the Council has responded in line with its information rights obligations.
Final decision
- I will not investigate this complaint. It is reasonable for Mr X to complain to the office of the Information Commissioner as the most suitable authority.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman