The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council allegedly leaking confidential information to a third party. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider the matters raised.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council allegedly shared confidential information with a third party, and he is suffering the consequences of this wrongful disclosure. He wants an independent review of what happened and financial compensation.
He also complains about the way the Council dealt with his subsequent Subject Access Request (SAR), Freedom of Information (FOI) request and his complaint.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. 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)(a), as amended) 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.
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 Mr X.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X stated he made a complaint to the Council, and he believed it shared this with the party he complained about. As a result, the party took legal action against him.
Mr X submitted a SAR and an FOI request to the Council in connection with the alleged breach of his confidentiality. He was dissatisfied with the time taken to receive the information and what was provided. He complains that the Council had not clearly responded to complaints he made that it had not fully dealt with his requests appropriately.
Complaints about information handling are best directed to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as it is better placed than the Ombudsman to consider them. Its decisions on FOI matters can be appealed. Where appeal rights exist, the Ombudsman would normally expect them to be used.
If Mr X believes he has suffered damage or distress or other loss as a result of the alleged breach of his confidentiality, he may wish to refer the matter to court. An ICO decision about the data protection issue may be material in such proceedings.
It is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaint handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will therefore not investigate this issue separately.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the alleged sharing of confidential information because it is a matter that can be referred to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman