Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about how the Council responded to her Freedom of Information request, because this is best considered by the Information Commissioner.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the quality of the Council’s response to her Freedom of Information request. She also complains about how the Council handled her complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

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. Miss X complains about the Council’s response to her Freedom of Information request. I will not investigate this complaint. The Information Commissioner's Office is best placed to consider this complaint.
6. Miss X also complains about how the Council handled her complaint. I will not investigate this matter. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about information provided by the Council because Miss X can approach the Information Commissioner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman