Lee Cruickshank v The Information Commissioner
[2024] UKFTT 730 (GRC)
Christopher Stevens v The Information Commissioner
5 June 2024
[2024] UKFTT 448 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
Someone complained to the Information Commissioner about an insurance company. The Commissioner investigated and closed the case. The person then went to court to challenge the Commissioner's decision. The court said it couldn't handle that kind of challenge and threw the case out. If the person still believes their data rights were violated, they need to sue the insurance company separately.
Key Facts
- •Christopher Stevens (Applicant) applied to the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) under section 166 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) against the Information Commissioner (Respondent).
- •The application challenged the Commissioner's handling of a complaint against Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Limited (LV) regarding a request for information.
- •The Commissioner applied to strike out the application under rule 8(3)(c) of the Tribunal Procedure Rules 2009 (no reasonable prospects of success).
- •The Applicant's grounds involved alleged failures by the Commissioner and LV regarding data protection, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), and the Equality Act 2010.
- •LV is a private insurer and not a public authority under FOIA.
Legal Principles
The Tribunal has no power to consider the merits of the Commissioner's substantive conclusions in a section 166 application.
Data Protection Act 2018, section 166
The Tribunal has no jurisdiction to consider FOIA compliance by non-public authorities.
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Challenges to the lawfulness or rationality of the Commissioner's process after an outcome are matters for judicial review, not the Tribunal.
Killock & Veale & ors v Information Commissioner [2021]UKUT 299 (AAC), R (on the application of Delo) v Information Commissioner and Wise Payments Limited [2022] EWHC 3046 (Admin)
The Tribunal lacks jurisdiction to consider Equality Act 2010 claims in a section 166 application.
Equality Act 2010
Section 166 DPA 2018 applications are not appeals against Commissioner decisions; they concern procedural aspects of complaint handling.
Data Protection Act 2018, section 166
Outcomes
The application was struck out.
The application had no reasonable prospects of success due to the Tribunal's lack of jurisdiction to address the substantive issues raised and the Applicant's inappropriate use of section 166.