The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s request for information. This is because this matter is best dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office. We will not investigate the complainant’s concerns about complaint handling as a standalone issue.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, has complained about how the Council dealt with his freedom of Information (FOI) request and its refusal to provide information. Mr X has also complained about how the Council dealt with his complaint. He says there have been delays, it failed to respond to his review request, and it has been unprofessional.
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))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X can appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if he is unhappy with how the Council dealt with his FOI request. The ICO is the independent body set up to uphold information rights and is best placed to deal with Mr X’s concerns.
Mr X has also complained about how the Council handled his complaint. However, where the Ombudsman has decided not to investigate the substantive issues complained about, we will not usually use public resources to consider more minor matters such as complaint handling. We will therefore not investigate this issue separately.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he can complain to the ICO if he is concerned about how the Council dealt with his request for information. We will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling as a standalone issue.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman