Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint that a Council officer made false allegations about him. This is because Mr X has commenced court proceedings about these matters placing them outside of our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that a Council officer made false allegations about him leading to his arrest. Mr X has made a Subject Access Request (SAR) asking the Council to provide him with information relating to these matters but says it has not responded.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
4. 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

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

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My assessment

7. I cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint. He has commenced legal proceedings against the Council in relation to the same matters and the law prevents us from investigating the start of court action. Mr X says the Council has provided false information to the courts, but the law also prevents us from investigating what has happened in court.
8. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council has failed to provide him with information he requested about its investigation into the officer who made the allegations against him. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is better placed to consider complaints about how SARs are responded to.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has commenced court proceedings about these matters placing them outside of our jurisdiction

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman