Dorset Council (25 030 737)
Category : Other Categories > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 27 Aug 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s management of public finances as it is not within our legal remit.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council has mismanaged millions of pounds of council taxpayers’ money for many years, which he says is fraud on a major scale. Mr X would like the Council to answer the questions he has about this.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
- 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)
- 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The potential injustice arising from Mr X’s complaint impacts all or most of the people in the Council’s area. As such, as per paragraph three, we cannot therefore investigate.
- The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent regulator in respect of information rights and is best placed to investigate any complaint Mr X has about how the Council has dealt with his information requests.
- We cannot investigate fraud as it is a criminal matter and so a matter for the police.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is not within our remit. The ICO is best placed to deal with Mr X’s concerns about information rights.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman