LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax discounts as this can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not giving Mr X a council tax exemption sooner. The complaint is late. Also, Mr X could reasonably have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal.

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint the Council refused to cancel a parking penalty notice. The Council considered the representation. Ms X had a right of appeal to the parking adjudicator which it was reasonable for her to use if she wanted to pursue the matter.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council delayed deciding on his eligibility for business rates’ relief resulting in his missing out on a business grant. We found fault in the Council’s actions causing Mr X injustice. We recommended the Council apologise to Mr X, pay him £300 for time and trouble, £300 for distress and uncertainty and, £10,000 in lieu of the grant. Further, that it acts to prevent recurrence.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the complainants priority on the Council’s housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mrs X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about personal injuries suffered by Mrs X’s son after he fell on a public path. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to go to court to determine any liability owed by the Council.

Summary: There was fault by the Council as it failed to send medical information Ms X supplied in 2019 and 2020 to a housing medical assessor. The Council has apologised and offered a satisfactory payment to Ms X towards the injustice caused, as she did not miss out on offers of housing. The Council was also at fault as it failed to repay storage costs it had agreed to pay. Repayment of these costs remedies the injustice to Ms X.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the failure of the Council to deal with a complaint by Ms X in her capacity as a headteacher. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. There is an absolute bar that prevents us investigating complaints made by the representatives of public bodies.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to protect him from abuse and neglect as a child whilst he was in the Council’s care. The Council refused to investigate his complaint, saying the issues were out of time. The Council was at fault as it should have investigated his complaint. Since bringing the complaint to us, the Council has reviewed its decision and decided to open an historic child protection investigation into his complaint. This is an appropriate action. The Council should also make service improvements to help prevent a reoccurrence of the identified fault.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the handling of Mrs X’s housing application. The evidence suggests the Council properly reached its decision, so we cannot criticise the decision.

Summary: Ms B complained about the delay in dealing with her complaint about children’s services. We found the Council delayed in completing the process and has not yet sent Ms B the reports in an accessible format. We have asked the Council to pay her £150 and send her the reports so she can access them.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council issuing parking penalties even though Mr X had renewed his parking permit online. There is insufficient remaining injustice which would warrant an investigation.

Summary: We found fault with the Council for failing to move Ms X to alternative temporary accommodation when it decided her accommodation was unsuitable. This caused Ms X an injustice because she lived in unsuitable accommodation. It also caused her distress and placed her at risk of domestic abuse. The Council agreed actions to remedy the injustice to Ms X.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to remove Ms X’s single person council tax discount. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault and Ms X has not been caused a significant injustice.

Summary: The Council’s failure to provide Ms X suitable temporary accommodation despite accepting in August 2021 that she needed to move urgently is fault. The Council is not at fault for how it decided Ms X did not qualify for Band A on its housing register. The Council has agreed to apologise and pay Ms X £1,925.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the recovery of business rate and council tax debts. This is because the matter has been subject to court proceedings. There is insufficient fault leading to a significant injustice with how the Council communicate with the complainant about the debts and it is reasonable to expect them to complaint to the Information Commissioner about a data breach.

Summary: A complaint was made on behalf of Ms C who suffered disturbance from the occupier of a neighbouring flat, who moved into their property around November 2019. We found fault in the Council’s response from November 2020 onward, when it became aware of this matter. This was because the Council failed to carry out an adequate investigation or take actions it promised. This loss of a service caused injustice to Ms C as well as causing her unnecessary distress, time and trouble. The Council accepts these findings and at the end of this statement, we set out the action it has agreed to remed

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse his application for a COVID-19 business grant. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: Ms X complained the Council incorrectly issued her with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for fly-tipping. We find the Council’s policy for issuing FPNs is flawed. We recommend the Council apologises to Ms X, cancel the FPN issued to her, rewrite its policy on issuing FPNs and take action to remedy injustice to any other affected parties.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mrs X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council wrongly stopped taking his council tax payments in 2021 causing arrears. The Council has resolved the complaint appropriately by explaining what went wrong, apologising for its error, and offering to spread the arrears over this financial year.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Discretionary Housing Payment because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a right of way. This is because the courts are better placed to consider the complaint.