The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an alleged data breach as it is best dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The complaint
Mr X complains a Council officer breached his data privacy when they told Mr X’s neighbour that he had made a complaint about him. Mr X says this has caused him distress and sleepless nights and seeks compensation for this.
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. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent regulator in respect of data protection matters and is best placed to determine if a data breach took place and if so, what action the Council should take in response.
Data protection law provides the right for someone who is damaged by a data protection breach to make a compensation claim in court. We are not empowered to make such determinations. It is reasonable therefore to expect Mr X to take court action for the compensation he seeks.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is best dealt with by the ICO and the courts.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman