Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with her information request. The Information Commissioner’s Office is best placed to address this. Other issues about her not receiving domestic abuse support are out of time.

The complaint

1. Miss X says the Council did not follow the law when handling her complaint or her Subject Access Request (SAR). Her SAR was over seven months late was incomplete and over‑redacted. Because of the redactions, she cannot understand decisions made about her children or use her right to complain. She also wants to know why she did not get statutory support for domestic abuse.

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))
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)
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

7. Miss X’s complaint is about a data matter, and so Miss X can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office about the Council’s refusal to provide the full information requested.
8. We cannot decide what information a council should release or how it should respond to subject access requests.
9. Miss X complains about the lack of domestic abuse support from the Council. Miss X believes the lack of support played a part in her children being removed from her care. These events occurred over 13 years ago.
10. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint as her concerns are about issues that happened more than 12 months ago. Miss X says the delay in her accessing her personal data from the Council meant she was not aware sooner of the Council’s alleged faults in handling her children’s case. I am not persuaded this prevented Miss X from being able to complain to us sooner. Miss X would have known through her experience at the time that the support was not sufficient for her. Miss X would also have been involved in the legal process around the care arrangements for her children and been able to raise any concerns she had during any court proceedings. Because of this, I will not exercise discretion to investigate this late complaint now.

Back to top

Final decision

11. We will not investigate the complaint because the ICO is better placed to deal with her complaint about how her request for information and her personal data was dealt with. The complaint about the lack of support from the Council is late and there are no good reasons why we should investigate it now.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman