The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr X complained the Council has incorrectly restricted the use and publication of his research. He said he wasted a considerable amount of time completing the research and feels he wasted his time. We have discontinued the investigation because we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council has incorrectly restricted the use and publication of his research. He said he wasted a considerable amount of time completing the research and feels he wasted his time.
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 or continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, 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 no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended) If we are satisfied with a Council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I read Mr X’s complaint and spoke to him about it on the phone.
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.
What I found
Background information The Council jointly commissions a service, service B, with other councils in the area, to run archives for the councils. Mr X’s complaint was directed to service B.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, is the current UK copyright law. It gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to control the ways in which their material may be used.
Mr X’s complaint is about service B not allowing others to access his research, due to copyright legislation. Mr X also stated some staff members were uncooperative.
What happened This is a summary of events, outlining key facts and does not cover everything that has occurred in this case.
Mr X started collecting information about local school logbooks in 2016. He said he discussed this with a member of staff, who explained no other people had researched this subject.
In October 2019, a member of staff at service B asked Mr X what he was doing and set out the data protection laws on the material in the archives. Mr X then complained to the service to explain he had a discussion in 2016 about doing this work and continued this work since.
Service B responded to Mr X’s complaint at the end of October 2023. The response confirmed it had the physical and electronic copy of the work Mr X provided the service. It apologised if the process around data protection was confusing and offered support with Mr X’s understanding. Service B did not uphold Mr X’s complaint.
Mr X asked service B escalate his complaint. He repeated he did not want to publish his research, he was giving to the archive service and would like the service to ensure its availability. Mr X stated service B staff were unprofessional and uncooperative and he had worked on the research for years without an issue.
Service B completed its stage two response in December 2023. The response detailed it assumed Mr X’s presence in the archives was for his personal research. It stated when the service became aware Mr X wanted to share the research, he could not under the law. Service B did not uphold Mr X’s complaint. Mr X accepted the response was technically accurate and there was no evidence of the verbal communications with staff.
My findings
Our investigations need to be proportionate. Mr X wants the Ombudsman to ensure service B shares his research with other people. This is not something an Ombudsman investigation can achieve. I have discontinued the investigation because we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants.
Final decision
I have discontinued my investigation because we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wanted.
Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman