Ipswich Borough Council (24 019 626)
Category : Other Categories > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 30 Mar 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a request for information, because the Information Commissioner’s Office is best placed to consider such complaints.
The complaint
- Mr X complained that the Council did not properly respond to his request for information.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended.)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says he requested information from the Council, and the Council did not properly respond to his request and instead treated it as a complaint about it.
- This is a matter best dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is best placed to deal with complaints about information requests.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint, because the ICO is best placed to deal with complaints about requests for information.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman