The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the Council committed a data breach. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate it now.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Council committed a data breach. She said she complained to the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) who upheld the complaint. She said the Council were negligent in managing the matter post ICO investigation.
She said it caused significant distress, frustration and harm to her mental wellbeing. She wants the Council to acknowledge the ICO findings and issue an apology.
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 late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended) We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) 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.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We will not investigate this complaint. Mrs X said the Council sent private data to a third party in 2021. She said she became aware of the matter in 2023. The ICO concluded its investigation in 2023 and wrote to the Council to remind it of its data protection obligations. We expect a person to complain to us within 12 months of being aware of a matter and Mrs X did not complain to us until 2025. Therefore, the complaint is late, and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to consider it now.
The more time passes between the events and a complaint, the more unlikely it is we can investigate them effectively, gather reliable evidence and reach a sound decision. In older cases we also may not be able to achieve a meaningful remedy because too many circumstances have changed. We are often unable to be able to show why events occurred or understand who was responsible.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate it now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman