LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: There was fault by the Council in how it dealt with an application for school transport. It did not take account of the statutory guidance and its policy does not reflect this. The Council took too long to convene the appeal panel and did not call him during the hearing as promised. The Council’s failings have caused the parent distress, uncertainty, and frustration. The Council has agreed to remedy this.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s arrangements for dealing with complaints. We consider an investigation will not lead to a different outcome.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application and restrictions on bidding presented to Ms X under the housing allocation partnership of which the Council is a member. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint concerning a dispute about highway and private boundaries. There is not enough evidence of fault in the information given to the complainant’s neighbour, it is reasonable to expect the complainant to pursue a court remedy, and we will not look at the Council’s complaint process in isolation.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a school that the complainant’s child attends. This is because the law prevents us from investigating complaints about what happens in schools.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax liability. This is because there is not enough evidence of any fault and Mrs X can appeal to the valuation tribunal.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to send him a garden waste permit. This is because an investigation by the Ombudsman would not achieve any additional outcome for Mr X.

Summary: Mr X complained about how the Council dealt with safeguarding matters relating to his child and that social workers acted unreasonably. He also complained about matters related to contact and court proceedings. We cannot consider matters related to the courts. However, we found the Council had failed to properly record and take account of important information relating to safeguarding and the Council should have agreed to escalate Mr X’s complaint when he requested this. We recommended and apology and modest payment.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council refusing his application for a residents parking permit. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council’s Monitoring Officer dealt with a complaint about the conduct of a councillor. This is because we are unlikely to find fault and the complainant has not suffered significant injustice.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a complaint about the conduct of a councillor. This is because we are unlikely to find fault and the complainant has not suffered significant injustice.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to Ms X’s concerns about the positioning of her neighbour’s waste bins for collection. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation.

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

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has not completed adequate social care assessments for four of Mrs B’s clients. This is because we do not consider Mrs B to be a suitable representative, and the injustice Mrs B claims personally does not arise from the actions she complains of but from a commissioning decision she could reasonably pursue under the contract between her organisation and the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to take planning enforcement action against a structure erected by Mr X’s neighbour. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about data processing and data retention. This is because some of the information complained about is being considered by the courts. In addition, Mr X has taken the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office which is best placed to consider this type of complaint.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s delay in responding to enquiries by him and the coroner’s office. The Council has apologised for the delay, which is appropriate, and we could not add to its investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint the Council used inaccurate information in a children social care assessment. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons to investigate now.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a parking penalty charge notice as Mrs X had the right to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal about it.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the actions of bias by a social worker and false information in reports. The matters Mr X complains of are closely related to the issue of who should have care of and contact with a child of the family. This issue has been subject to court action and the matters complained of could reasonably have been raised in court.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council has failed to take appropriate or effective action to control unauthorised and dangerous parking or enforce parking restrictions at a commercial estate. Mr X also complains the Council has failed to maintain the estate and it is now in a state of disrepair from over grown vegetation. There is no evidence of fault in the way the Council has responded to Mr X’s concerns about parking on the commercial estate.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s child protection actions including that it failed to communicate properly and completed a flawed assessment. There is insufficient injustice to investigate. The Council has reviewed its practice and offered to take appropriate action. We cannot achieve the outcome Mrs X wants.

Summary: Ms X complained about failings in the support the Council provided to her and her grandchildren. The Council’s failure to provide an Independent Social Worker to support Ms X and the delays in applying for funding for therapies for her grandson are fault. These faults have caused Ms X an injustice.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that emergency accommodation the Council provided to a homeless man was in poor condition, and that it unreasonably refused to help him any further after he had to leave the accommodation. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council regarding these matters.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a fine issued to Mr X for an expired scaffolding permit as any fault by the Council has not caused Mr X a significant injustice.