LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about data protection as this is a matter for the Information Commissioner and there is a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax payment dates because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to make reasonable adjustments in relation to a charge for the garden waste service. This is because there is not enough fault in how the Council made its decision to justify an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care and where the person should live. The court of protection is better placed to consider this complaint as can order where the person should live. There is not a worthwhile outcome the Ombudsman could achieve.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the work carried out by the Council in default of an Enforcement Notice. We are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s actions. Also, we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the charges invoiced for her grandmother’s care and support. She says the Council has charged for the care that was scheduled, rather than what was actually provided. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

Summary: Mr X complained about the way the Council dealt with his father’s care charges. The Council was at fault for failing to keep proper records and give reasons for its decisions, delaying in sending financial assessment forms and deciding on Mr Y’s care contribution,

Summary: The Council delayed making a decision about Mr Y’s social care provision and issuing the decision to cease to maintain his Education, Health and Care Plan. This caused avoidable uncertainty, distress and a delay in appeal rights which have not been used. The Council has already apologised and this is an appropriate remedy.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to install sound insulation. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

Summary: We cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council’s refusal of his application to remove a protected tree. This is because Mr B has appealed to the Planning Inspector. We do not have the power to investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Planning Inspector’s handling of his appeal.

Summary: Mr F complained the Council carried out inadequate inspections of building work completed by his contractor and therefore failed to identify non-compliance with building regulations. We do not find the Council at fault for its inspections. However, we do find it at fault for poor complaint handling. This caused Mr F unnecessary time and trouble, which we consider an injustice. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr F. We considered this provided a fair remedy to the complaint, taking account also of an earlier commitment the Council gave not to charge Mr F for additional building inspe

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council delayed reviewing her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan and failed to provide the Speech and Language Therapist provision from her child’s plan. Mrs X also complained the Council delayed handling her complaint. We found fault with the Council for all aspects of Mrs X’s complaint. The Council agreed to pay Mrs X £2,700 for the quantifiable loss of the Speech and Language Therapist reviews, £300 for the distress and uncertainty caused through delays in reviewing her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan and £100 for the frustration and inconvenience

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a financial assessment for adult social care charges. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council and investigation would not achieve a different outcome.

Summary: There were failings in the domiciliary care provided to Mrs Y, which the care agency acknowledged and dealt with before the complaint came to this office. However, it failed to communicate its actions to Mrs X and failed to apologise for the actions of its carers. We have made a recommendation to address this.

Summary: Miss X complained the Council took too long to offer her child, Y, suitable respite care. The Council was at fault for not considering Miss X’s complaint through the children’s statutory complaints procedure. The Council has agreed to apologise and investigate the complaint at stage two of the statutory procedure.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a charge for removal of garden waste as it affects all or most of the population of the area.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council substantiating a child protection concern about Mr X. The Local Authority Designated Officer for child safeguarding reached a decision they were entitled to reach based on the evidence before them. Investigation by us would be unlikely to find fault.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council introduced a charge for its green waste collection as there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigating.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about highway maintenance because it is late with no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about a period of Council-commissioned domiciliary care her late mother Mrs Y received shortly before her death, and about the Council’s complaint responses. There is insufficient personal injustice caused to Mrs X or the family by the matters complained of to warrant us investigating. An investigation by us would not add to the Council’s investigation, achieve a different outcome, nor achieve a worthwhile outcome. We do not investigate councils’ complaint handling where we are not investigating the core issues giving rise to the complaint.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a right of way because it is reasonable to expect him to approach the court who are better placed to consider the complaint.

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s handling of his concerns about a breach of planning condition. We found no fault in how the Council reached its decision there was no breach of the condition. However, the Council was at fault in not considering his complaint about that decision. To address the frustration this caused, the Council agreed to apologise to Mr X.

Summary: We will not investigate X’s complaint about children services’ actions. We are unlikely to find fault which has caused X a direct injustice and the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the complainant’s application for some properties. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because we cannot investigate the actions of Housing Associations.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about quality of care and an incident in 2021, and the Council’s delay until 2023 in pursuing payment for outstanding care fees. There is not a good reason for the delay in the events of 2021 being brought to the Ombudsman. Investigation by us into later events would not achieve the outcome Ms X seeks.