The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s investigation into a complaint about the information it provided in response to a subject access request. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. The Ombudsman will not normally investigate a complaint about the Council’s complaints process where we are unable to deal with the underlying issue.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Miss X, says the Council failed to properly investigate a complaint she made about an incorrect date assigned to an audio recording it sent her in response to a subject access request (SAR). In particular, Miss X says the officers investigating her complaint failed to listen to the recording, so did not properly consider the available evidence. If they had listened to the recording, Miss X says this would have proven the claimed date of the recording was incorrect.
Miss X says she is complaining to the Ombudsman about the Council’s complaints process/investigation, rather than the content of her complaint or the decision on it.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection matters. This includes the handling of information/data. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended) And 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.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council, which included the Council’s complaint responses.
I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent authority on data protection and information handling matters, and it is best placed to respond to concerns about how a Council has processed data when responding to a SAR. I understand Miss X has already contacted the ICO, but it concluded it was not in a position to dispute what either party said.
As the Ombudsman will not look at the substantive matter that prompted Miss X’s complaint to the Council, it would not be a good use of our limited resources to investigate her concerns about the complaint handling in isolation.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the ICO was best placed to consider the underlying issue being complained about, and we will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling in isolation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman