LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: Miss D complains the Council did not properly process her housing register application and bids for housing. We have not found any evidence of fault by the Council and have completed the investigation and not upheld the complaint.

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to meet the special educational needs of her child. We upheld the complaint, finding the Council agreed to make alternative provision for the child’s education but then failed to do so, or else refund Mrs X for arrangements she made. This caused a quantifiable financial loss. The Council has accepted this finding and at the end of this statement we set out the action it has agreed to remedy this injustice and make service improvements.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council deciding not to cut back trees near her property, not discussing the matter on-site with her, and the tree roots causing pavement damage. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making process about the trees, including its site visits, to warrant an investigation. Investigation of the pavement issue would not achieve a different outcome.

Summary: The Ombudsman previously recommended the Council respond to Mrs X’s stage two statutory children’s complaint within 65 working days. We opened this complaint to investigate the Council’s apparent failure to comply with our recommendations. We have ended this investigation because Mrs X has begun court action against the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to cut back trees which overhang her property. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about financial assessment for adult social care charges. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault. The Council completed the assessment in line with its relevant policy and explained the reasons for its decision.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to act on the complainant’s report about the actions of a contractor who did work in her home. This is because we are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s actions.

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the accommodation the Council found for her was too expensive. The complaint is late, and she would have had the right to ask for a review of the suitability of the accommodation when the Council discharged its homelessness duty.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s parking charges. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of the complainant’s planning applications and associated complaint. It is reasonable to expect him to have used his statutory rights of appeal to a government minister and tribunal.

Summary: There was no fault by the Council in how it decided to allow long grass to remain at a rewilded site.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s pursuit of Mr X for unpaid council tax. This is because Mr X had right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal and it would have been reasonable for him to use it. In addition, an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the approval of a neighbour’s planning application and how the Council dealt with a possible breach of planning control. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault and Mr X has not suffered significant injustice.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax exemption as there is a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the increased cost of a penalty charge notice as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council or that we can achieve the outcome the complainant seeks.

Summary: There was a failure to provide suitable fulltime alternative education when a child was unable to attend school due to high levels of anxiety. This led the child to miss out on education, including special educational provision. The Council will apologise, make a symbolic payment and service improvements.

Summary: A man complained that the Council unreasonably went back on an agreement to offer him a contract to provide it with a transport service. But we will not investigate this complaint because the man’s allegation of breach of contract and claim for compensation are issues for the courts to decide, and it is reasonable to expect him to pursue matters in that way.

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

Summary: Mr X complained about his neighbour’s air conditioning unit. He is not satisfied the Council thoroughly investigated his noise nuisance complaint or considered the requirement for planning permission. The Council was not at fault as it properly conducted a noise nuisance investigation and considered requirements for planning permission.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council incorrectly charged council tax and instructed bailiffs. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We have found no fault with the Council’s actions in relation to Mr X’s mother’s care or how it communicated its charging policy.

Summary: We will not investigate the complainant’s concerns about the way the Council responded to his complaint regarding a potentially an abandoned vehicle. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. It is reasonable to expect the complainant to have contacted us sooner about events in 2021, there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council, and we will not consider its complaint handling in isolation.

Summary: There was fault by the Council as it did not refer the service user for a financial assessment when it first carried out a care and support assessment. The Council’s reduction of an invoice requiring the repayment of direct payments is a satisfactory remedy to this injustice. There is no fault in the Council’s decision making on the amount of direct payments.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint the Council’s preference for on-line communication is discriminatory. That is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council breaching Mr X’s confidentiality. That is because complaints about breach of data protection are best dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office.