Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his Freedom of Information Act request. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider and decide information rights complaints. In any case, Mr X has not suffered a significant injustice which would warrant our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council provided false information in its response to his Freedom of Information (FOI) request. He said it told him it did not hold the information he asked for, but this was incorrect.

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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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34(B))

3. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. 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. 

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained the Council said it did not hold information he asked for, but this was incorrect.
7. The Freedom of Information Act is intended to promote openness and accountability by public sector bodies. It gives people rights of access to non-personal information about how an organisation operates and makes decisions. 
8. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) enforces this legislation. The ICO upholds information rights by promoting openness by public bodies and protecting the privacy of individuals.
9. We will not investigate this complaint. The ICO considers and decides complaints about FOI responses, and it is reasonable to expect X to complain to it.
10. In any case, our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures.
11. There is no evidence to suggest Mr X has suffered an injustice which would meet the threshold for our involvement.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the ICO is better placed to consider and decide complaints about information rights.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman