Medway Council (25 026 722)
Category : Other Categories > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 04 May 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a data breach as it is best dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office and the court.
The complaint
- Miss X complains about a data breach by the Council which she says placed her in danger. Miss X would like compensation for this.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s regulator in respect of data protection matters. It can assess what the Council did and what administrative steps it should take to put things right and is best placed to do this.
- Under data protection law, compensation claims can be made in court when damage is caused by a data breach. We cannot make compensation awards or determine damage claims, as the court can. There is a relatively simple, procedure open to anyone to make a money claim in court or Miss X could engage a solicitor, some of whom take on such cases on a ‘no win-no fee’ basis. As such, it is reasonable to expect Miss X to take legal action for the compensation she seeks. We will not therefore investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is best dealt with by the ICO and it is reasonable to expect Miss X to seek compensation in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman