South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council (25 021 406)
Category : Other Categories > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 19 Apr 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council committed a data breach. This is because the Information Commissioner is better placed to deal with the matter.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about how the Council dealt with him whilst dealing with a complaint. He says the Council committed a data breach and that a member of staff made derogatory comments about him. Mr X also says the Council placed restrictions on his contact with it and failed to consider his reasonable adjustments.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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:
- any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
- there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I will not investigate Mr X’s complaints that the Council placed restrictions on his contact with it and failed to consider his reasonable adjustments. These are matters that we have previously considered, and we do not accept repeat complaints about the same issues.
- I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council committed a data breach. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is better placed to consider this matter.
- Mr X has not demonstrated that any comments made by Council staff members have caused him a significant enough injustice to warrant investigation.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the ICO are better placed to consider the matter.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman