The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about changes to the Council’s waste management strategy. This is because it is a matter that affects all or most people in the Council’s area.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains about changes to the Council’s waste management strategy. He says the Council has failed to provide him with information it considered when making its decision. He wants the Council to either provide the information or to delay the implementation of the strategy.
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 something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended) The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because any changes to the Council’s waste management strategy affect all or most of the people in the Council’s area. This places the matter outside of our jurisdiction.
If Mr X is dissatisfied with his requests for information about the changes, he can contact the Information Commissioner, who is better placed to investigate such complaints.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is an issue that affect all or most of the people in the Council’s area.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman