Summary: We will not investigate Ms 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 Ms X’s complaint.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council shared personal data with a third party.
2. She says this caused her anxiety. She wants the Council to apologise and reimburse various costs she says she incurred as a result.

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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.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. We will not start an investigation into Ms 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 potential breaches relating to the unauthorised sharing of personal data.
9. There is no charge for making a complaint to the ICO, and its complaints procedure is relatively easy to use. 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 there has been a breach and, if so, what action the Council should take. The Ombudsman cannot. Ms X should therefore approach the ICO about her concerns because it can give her the outcome she wants.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is another body better placed to respond to her complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman