LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice for an alleged parking contravention. This is because it is reasonable for Mrs B to put in formal representations, and if needed, appeal to London Tribunals.

Summary: On behalf of Ms X, Ms Y complained the Council provided Ms X and her children with unsuitable interim and temporary accommodation for a prolonged period. Ms Y also complained the Council failed to keep the household’s circumstances under review, failed to appropriately respond to concerns about the accommodation, and failed to offer Ms X appropriate advice and support. We have found the Council acted with fault. Because of these faults, Ms X and her children lived in unsuitable accommodation for longer than they should, affecting their wellbeing and causing avoidable distress, uncerta

Summary: Mr X complained that the Council left him and his family in unsuitable accommodation for more than a year. We found that the Council was at fault in failing to move the family to suitable accommodation. This caused them injustice, particularly in terms of the needs of their disabled child. The Council has agreed to the recommendations we made to remedy this injustice.

Summary: Mr O complained on behalf of Ms X that the Council removed her from its housing register without properly considering her medical needs. Mr O said Ms X’s property has a severely negative impact on her due to past traumas and is impacting her mental health significantly. We find the Council at fault and this caused injustice. The Council has agreed to make a fresh decision.

Summary: We found fault on Ms Y’s complaint about the Council’s delay dealing with the information submitted in support of her request for a higher banding under its housing allocation scheme. It failed to show officers reached their own decisions after considering Medical Advisors’ recommendations. It also failed to action her request for a statutory review following a Social Welfare Panel decision. The Council agreed to send her an apology, pay £100 for her distress, remind officers about recording their decisions, review why two forms and a request for a review were not actioned, and ensure

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s removal and destruction of an ‘abandoned’ vehicle. This is because the complaint is late and I have seen no good reasons to exercise our discretion to investigate it.

Summary: Ms B complained that the Council had failed to rectify leak damage in her bathroom following works under a Disabled Facilities grant. We have not found fault with the Council’s actions.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s description of a property made as a final offer to Mrs X. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Summary: Ms D complained the Council failed to verify a property offer and did not review the suitability of temporary accommodation. I have found fault by the Council because it failed to clarify whether Ms D was seeking a suitability review. The Council has agreed to pay redress to Ms D for this lost opportunity.

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

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice. This is because the Council has cancelled the penalty charge notice and refunded Mrs X’s payment for it, and it is unlikely we could achieve anything more for her.

Summary: We will not investigate Dr Y’s complaint about the Council’s handling of safeguarding concerns about his child. We could not add to the responses the Council has already provided by investigating. The law also prevents us from investigating some of the issues which have been the subject of court proceedings. We have no powers to make the Council change the allocated Social Worker or take disciplinary action against individual employees.

Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate the Council’s recovery of a council tax debt from 2023. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner. We have no discretion to investigate complaints which have been subject to court proceedings.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice he received for an alleged parking contravention. This is because it is reasonable for Mr B to put in formal representations, and if needed, appeal to London Tribunals.

Summary: Ms D complained the Council failed to provide assistance with her homelessness application. I have found fault by the Council causing Ms D avoidable distress. The Council has agreed to pay redress to Ms D and make service improvements.

Summary: Ms X complained the Council has wrongly refused her application for home to school transport for her child who has additional needs. We have found no fault in the way the Council dealt with the matter. So have completed our investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council issuing him a Fixed Penalty Notice for fly tipping. This is because Mr X can raise a defence against the issuing of the notice in court if he considers it was incorrectly issued.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s actions in its child protection involvement with her child. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider her complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s offer of long-term social housing. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement, nor have the Council’s actions caused a significant injustice.

Summary: We will not investigate Dr B’s complaint that his car entered a flooded section of road because the Council failed to alert motorists to this hazard. This is because it is reasonable for Dr B to pursue his compensation claim by taking the Council to court.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s offer of accommodation. It would have been reasonable for Mr X to ask the Council for a review.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about her property’s council tax band. This is because we cannot investigate the actions of the Valuation Office Agency. The Council is not at fault for using the council tax band provided by the Valuation Office Agency.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s late complaint about the content of the Council’s report to the court about his children. The law prevents us from investigating anything that has been the subject of court proceedings.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the decision to limit the ways in which she can contact her local council. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

Summary: We have upheld Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of the charges for his adult social care. The Council has agreed to take appropriate steps to remedy the uncertainty caused.