Liverpool City Council (26 008 047)
Category : Other Categories > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 16 Aug 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about how the Council handled her request for documents. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to raise her concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The complaint
- Miss X complained the Council wrongfully failed to provide her with copies of reports which she had requested.
- Miss X said this caused significant emotional distress and meant she was unable to obtain the items she requested. She wanted the Council to:
- provide her with the items she originally requested;
- conduct an internal investigation into its staff; and
- apologise for its alleged failures.
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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X complained to the Council about the matters in paragraph one. The Council responded and sign-posted Miss X to its Information Team as her complaint related to data protection matters.
- 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.
- The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) considers complaints about data protection. It holds more powers than the Ombudsman to address these types of complaints.
- In this case there is no good reason for us to investigate the matter instead. In the absence of a wider complaint we could consider, the ICO is the best placed body to consider the issue.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the Information Commissioner’s Office is the body best placed to consider the matter.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman