The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the administration of a postal vote as this matter is not within our legal remit. Mr X’s concerns about data protection are best dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office. We will not investigate the Council's complaint handling as in isolation this does not cause Mr X a level of injustice that would warrant our further involvement
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council failed to send him a postal vote and sent him a voting pack which related to a third party who does not live at his address. Mr complains the complaint he made to the Council about this was not properly handled and that he considers its complaint procedure is not fit for purpose.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of a council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).
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) 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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The administration of elections, including that of postal votes, is the responsibility of the Returning Officer. In carrying out this role, the Returning Officer acts in an independent capacity and is not carrying out an administrative function of the Council. These actions are not therefore within our legal remit and we cannot investigate.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the UK's independent regulator in respect of data protection matters and is best placed to respond to Mr X’s concerns in this regard.
We will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling in isolation as this alone does not cause Mr X a level of injustice that would warrant our further involvement.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about postal vote administration because it is not within our legal limit. Mr X’s concerns about data protection are best dealt with by the ICO. We will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling as in isolation this does not cause Mr X a level of injustice that would justify our further involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman