Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to respond to his Subject Access Request. This is because the Information Commissioner is better placed to deal with the matter.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council failed to respond to his Subject Access Request (SAR).

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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))
3. 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

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

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My assessment

6. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK regulator for data protection and is responsible for enforcing UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. The ICO can investigate the complaint and issue reprimands or enforcement notices, require the council to improve SAR handling and in serious cases impose penalties.
7. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the ICO have more extensive powers than we do here, and they were set up by parliament to investigate complaints about a person’s data rights. Therefore, it is a more suitable body to investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the ICO are better placed to consider it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman