Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s responses to Mr X’s request for information about Council staff. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. There is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that he asked the Council for an officer’s contact details and also their practitioner’s professional organisation, with registration number for complaints, but the Council told untruths in its complaints response.
2. Mr X says the Council’s response caused him to suffer grief and PTSD for which he wants to be awarded maximum compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating,
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement,
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint,

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

My assessment

7. The Council wrote to Mr X saying it could not identify the exact staff member Mr X was requesting details about. It said it could be as that person worked for a different Council that was responsible for providing specific services in Mr X’s case. It also advised that, even if it was able to identify the individual in question, it would not tell him as that would be a breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.
8. Mr X has provided information showing that there is a person who appears to be employed by the Council matching the information he had already provided on the specific officer. He says this is evidence of the Council telling untruths.
9. We will not investigate. This is because I am unable to determine if the Council has acted with fault given it is unable for data protection reasons to provide information on staff in any case.
10. Further if Mr X considers the Council is withholding information or has provided inaccurate information to him he can complain to the Office of the Information Commissioner. It is better placed to consider the accuracy of the information the Council has provided as the UK’s specialist agency for monitoring Councils information handling practices.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code. There is insufficient evidence of the Council acting with fault causing injustice to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman