The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a data protection breach. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to deal with the complainant’s concerns.
The complaint
The complainant, I shall call Mr D says the Council passed his personal data to a contractor.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr D and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr D’s complaint. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent authority on data protection matters and is best placed to deal with a complaint about data protection.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman