The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X’s claim the Council breached the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This is because the Information Commissioner is the body best placed to consider such a complaint.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, says the Council’s breach of the GDPR has affected his mental health and that it should pay compensation for the loss of earnings which has resulted from this.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X, including the Council’s response to his complaint.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council breached the GDPR. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office is the body best placed to deal with such a complaint.
Moreover, Mr X says the breach has affected his mental health, resulting in a loss of income for which he seeks compensation. However, an investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a recommendation for compensation for this claimed injustice and Mr X can seek legal advice if he wishes to pursue such a claim through the courts.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a Council GDPR breach because the Information Commissioner is the body best placed to consider such a complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman