The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s responses to his homelessness application and requests for his personal information instigated by his homelessness application in 2019. We will not investigate this late complaint as it was reasonable to expect Mr X to complain to us at the time. Further, another agency is best placed to deal with his concerns about the Council’s handling of his personal data.
The complaint
In short, Mr X complains about matters starting from the way the Council dealt with his homelessness application in 2019. He also says the Council has failed to deal with his personal data properly. How would like to be compensated.
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 late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended) We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start 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 the complainant which includes his contact with the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complains about various matters linked to his homelessness application in 2019. He says Council officers failed to consider his case fairly including evidence from the Police about him sleeping in his van.
He is also unhappy with the way the Council responded to his requests for his personal information and raises concerns about the Council’s records about his case.
I will not investigate as Mr X has made his complaint late and it is therefore caught by our legal time bar on investigating. I do not see good reason to investigate now as I would have expected Mr X to complain to us in 2019 given the seriousness of his homelessness.
With respect to his dissatisfaction with how the Council has recorded his case records and responded to his concerns, this is a matter best addressed by the Office of the Information Commissioner.
This is because the ICO is the body with specific powers and expertise to investigate the Council’s information handling practices. The Information Commissioner’s Officer has powers - which the Ombudsman does not - to require compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations and the UK General Data Protection Regulations, tailored by the Data Protection Act 2018. It can consider whether the Council has responded in line with its information rights obligations.
Final decision
I will not investigate this late complaint. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner. And the matters relating to his case records and personal data are better dealt by the Office of the Information Commissioner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman