The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about information the Council passed to Mr X’s employer as the substantive injustice caused to Mr X arose from the action of Mr X’s employer, over whom we have no jurisdiction. In addition, Mr X’s complaint is essentially best dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The complaint
Mr X complains he was dismissed from his job after the Council made a false accusation about him to his previous employer. Mr X complains the Council has failed to supply him with information he has requested about what investigation it carried out and of evidence it replied upon. This has caused Mr X distress and is impacting on his ability to find new work.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide the injustice claimed does not arise directly from the alleged Council fault or we can achieve no meaningful outcome for the person complaining (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), 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.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
While I recognise Mr X has been significantly affected by what has happened, it was as a direct result of action taken by his former employer, not the Council. The law provides a mechanism for Mr X to seek redress if he considers he was unfairly dismissed. We have no role to play in that process and we have no remit to investigate Mr X’s previous employer.
Mr X’s complaint that the Council has not supplied information he has requested from it, is best dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). It is the UK’s independent body responsible for upholding information rights.
For these reasons, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because Mr X’s injustice was caused by a private third party and the concerns he raises in respect of information rights are best dealt with by the ICO.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman