Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a planning application. This is because the complainant has appealed to the Planning Inspector. And it is not unreasonable to expect her to report her concerns about data protection and record management to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, complains about the Council’s handling of her planning application. And about its data protection and records management.

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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. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b))
4. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about:

• delay – usually over eight weeks – by an authority in deciding an application for planning permission
• a decision to refuse planning permission
• conditions placed on planning permission
• a planning enforcement notice.

5. 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.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mrs X including the Council’s responses to her complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse her planning application. This is because she has appealed to the Planning Inspector about the Council’s decision and the Ombudsman cannot investigate matters where someone has already used their appeal right.
9. Mrs X complains about how the application was handled by the Council. But how the Council dealt with the application is related to the planning decision which has been appealed. The Ombudsman cannot investigate when someone has appealed to the Planning Inspector, even if the appeal will not address all the issues complained about.
10. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights. It deals with complaints about public authorities’ failures to comply with data protection legislation. This includes disclosing confidential information.
11. There is no charge for making a complaint to the ICO, and its complaints procedure is relatively easy to use. Where someone has a complaint about data protection, the Ombudsman usually expects them to bring the matter to the attention of the ICO. This is because the ICO is in a better position than the Ombudsman to consider such complaints. I consider that to be the case here and Miss X should therefore approach the ICO about her concerns about data sharing.

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Final decision

12. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling and refusal of her planning application because she appealed to the planning inspector. And the ICO is better placed to deal with her data protection complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman