The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to provide information Ms X has requested as Ms X can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office about this.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council has failed to provide information she has requested, and which a local parish council has also failed to provide to her.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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.
We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as parish councils. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34(1), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The County Council has advised Ms X it does not hold the information she has requested and that it can be obtained from the parish council.
If Ms X is not satisfied with this response, she can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). It is best placed to deal with such concerns as it is the UK’s independent authority on information rights.
We have no jurisdiction to deal with complaints about parish councils, as they are not bodies within our jurisdiction. Similarly, however, the ICO is best placed to deal with how the parish council has dealt with Ms X’s information request.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the ICO is best placed to deal with her concerns.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman