The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mrs X’s data. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider it.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Council inappropriately shared her information with third parties without her consent.
Mrs X said this has caused a negative impact to her mental health and led to her lacking trust in the Council.
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 another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) 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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X complained the Council shared her personal data with third parties inappropriately and without her consent.
The Council considered whether a data breach had occurred but said the matter did not amount to a data breach. It also upheld the reasons it had shared the information with third parties.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was set up by parliament to uphold data rights, including those set out in GDPR. The ICO has powers to take enforcement actions against an organisation where it has not complied with information rights laws, which is a power the Ombudsman does not have. It is therefore reasonable to expect Mrs X to raise her complaint with the ICO if she believes the Council has handled her data inappropriately. For this reason, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider it.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman