Summary: We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s response to their information request. This is because complaints about information rights are better considered by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs X complained the Council had refused to reply, to what he said was a data subject access request. They also said a Council officer had passed on their private information to another body.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant(s) and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

5. Mrs and Mrs X wrote to us because they were unhappy about the Council’s response to their request for information. The Council provided information to say it had replied to Mr and Mrs X’s previous requests, and more recently had not accepted their subsequent requests, because it had already provided a response.
6. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is substantially about how the Council addressed Mr and Mrs X’s information rights and complaints about these matters are better suited to be considered by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Back to top

Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint because the ICO are better suited to consider their complaint.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman