Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with Ms X’s request for information. This is because the Information Commissioner is the appropriate body to consider and decide complaints about Freedom of Information requests.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about how the Council handled her Freedom of Information (FOI) request. She said she was passed between departments with no resolution. Ms X says this has caused ongoing delay, frustration and distress. Ms X would like the Council to provide a response to her request.

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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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X made an FOI to the Council. The data governance team received the request and asked her to provide additional information before it could process it. The Council says Ms X did not provide the requested information.
6. Ms X complained to the Council that it had not responded to her FOI. In its complaint response, the Council advised her to provide the information it requested to the data governance team so it could move forward with her FOI.
7. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.
8. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect her to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the ICO is the appropriate body to consider complaints about data protection.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman