The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council publishing the complainant’s personal information on its website. This is because this matter is best dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X, has complained the Council shared her personal information on its website. Miss X says she has been caused significant stress by the matter and feels she has been treated unfairly by the Council.
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)) We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner 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 Miss X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if she is concerned about how the Council handles her personal data. The ICO is the independent body set up to uphold information rights and is best placed to deal with Miss X’s concerns.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the ICO is best placed to deal with this matter.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman