Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that the Council wrongly used Mrs X’s personal data in court proceedings as this is not a matter within our remit. The Information Commissioner’s Office is best placed to assess the Council’s actions in respect of data protection law. Mrs X can take court action for the compensation she seeks.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council put her safety at risk by using her personal data in a court case. Mrs X says this caused her emotional distress, anxiety and stress. Mrs X seeks compensation for the Council because of this.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
4. 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)
5. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. We cannot investigate what information was shared in the court proceedings by the Council as the law says such matters are not within our legal remit.
9. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent regulator and is best placed to assess whether the Council complied with the law in respect of Mrs X’s personal data.
10. A person suffering damage from a breach of data protection law can seek compensation in court. We are not empowered to make compensation awards or to decide damage claims. It is open to Mrs X to take her own action in court as there is a procedure open to anyone to do so or Mrs X could engage a solicitor, some of whom take on such cases on a ‘no win- no fee’ basis. It is reasonable therefore to expect Mrs X to resort to court action for the compensation she seeks.
11. For these reasons, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

12. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we cannot investigate court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman