Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about matters related to the Council’s data handling. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to respond to his complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council shared his and other’s personal data with a third party.
2. He says this made him nervous and he wants the Council officer involved to be disciplined.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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))
4. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. We will not start an investigation into Mr X’s complaint.
8. The ICO is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights. It deals with complaints about public authorities’ failures to comply with data protection legislation. This includes alleged wrongful sharing of personal data.
9. Where someone has a complaint about data protection, the Ombudsman usually expects them to bring the matter to the attention of the ICO. This is because the ICO is in a better position than the Ombudsman to consider such complaints. It can decide if the Council wrongfully shared Mr X’s personal data. The Ombudsman cannot. Mr X should therefore approach the ICO about his concerns because it can give him the outcome he wants.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to deal with his complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman