The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a Freedom of Information request. Mr X appealed to the First-Tier Tribunal (Information Rights), so the law prevents us from investigating. For the rest, we can decide not to investigate complaints about any action by the Council concerning a matter that the law says we cannot investigate.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his Freedom of Information request, its communication and its complaint handling.
Mr X says this caused distress, time and trouble.
Mr X wants the Council to compensate him for his experience.
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 a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We cannot investigate the substantive matter in Mr X’s complaint. Mr X appealed to the First-Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) about the Freedom of Information request issue. The law prevents us from investigating complaints when a person has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter.
We will also not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s communication and complaint handling. The courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by an organisation concerning a matter which the law says we cannot investigate. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because he appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. Additionally, we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by an organisation concerning a matter which the law says we cannot investigate.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman