LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council not enforcing as it has done previously regarding overgrown land near his property, not explaining its decision, and not accepting further complaints from him. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s enforcement process to warrant investigation. Even if there were fault, the matters cause Mr X insufficient significant injustice to justify us investigating. We also cannot achieve the key outcome he seeks wants. We do not investigate council complaint-handling where we are not investigating the core issue giving r

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to act on noise nuisance from nearby allotments. We found the Council took suitable steps to investigate the noise and acted against the allotment tenants responsible. The Council accepted fault for not acting promptly on further evidence Mr X gave, but we found this did not affect the outcome or cause significant injustice.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for a site next to the complainant’s home. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. The complaint is late, and we have seen no reason to exercise discretion on this point.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the behaviour of a taxi driver, nor how the Council investigated his report of the incident and its licensing sanction decision. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s investigation and decision to warrant us investigating. There is insufficient significant personal injustice to Mr X stemming from the Council’s actions or its licensing decision to justify an investigation.

Summary: Ms X complains the Council failed to provide her with consistent financial and practical support to enable her to care for her niece Y, as a Special Guardian since 2020. We have found no evidence of fault by the Council in the way it has considered Ms X's application for an SGO allowance in 2023 and request for financial help. So, we are minded to complete our investigation.

Summary: the Council failed to ensure that a significant element of the special educational provision in Mr S’s May 2022 Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan was delivered. The staff at Mr S’s supported living did not receive training from his teacher to embed his learning throughout his waking day. The Council failed to hold an annual review in May 2023, and may have ended Mr S’s EHC Plan 12 months earlier than necessary.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has unreasonably declined to provide the complainant with details of how his reports of child protection concerns have been considered. This is because there is no evidence of fault on the Council’s part.

Summary: We upheld this complaint, and the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by taking the complaint through the children’s statutory complaints procedure. It also agreed to apologise to Ms X and pay her £200 to acknowledge the frustration caused by the delay. We did not investigate Ms X’s substantive complaint about the involvement of the Council’s children’s services because the Council agreed to progress the complaint through the statutory children’s complaints procedure.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council closing his son’s case in 2017. There is nothing further we could to the Council’s investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to make changes to the layout of the area near the complainant’s home. This is because we have no power to investigate part of the complaint and there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: Mr X complained that the Council failed to properly complete works agreed to be carried out under a disabled facilities grant for his father, Mr Y. We found the Council failed to inform Mr X about changes to the agreed works, failed to install fencing on completion of the works and delayed in responding to his complaint. In recognition of the injustice caused the Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and Mr Y and make a payment to them.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse his claim for damages after his car hit a pothole. This is because this is a complaint about negligence which is a legal matter for the courts to consider and decide.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Ms X’s report of anti-social behaviour by a person who is a neighbour of family members. This is because there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a councillor’s conduct in 2022. The complaint is late and there is no good reason to investigate now.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s children’s services and its involvement with the complainant’s family. This is because it concerns what happened during court proceedings. Complaints about the conduct of social workers are better considered by Social Work England.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions prior to and during care proceedings. This is because the law prevents us from investigating the start of court proceedings and what happened in court.

Summary: We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint that her car was damaged because the Council failed to manage temporary roadworks properly. This is because it is reasonable for Ms B to pursue her compensation claim at court if needed.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s street-cleaning in his area, nor how it responded to his complaint.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council stopping providing interim accommodation. There is not significant enough injustice for us to investigate whether the Council was at fault.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to end her allotment tenancy. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to repair a defective manhole cover. There is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council has assessed the matter, we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking, and it is reasonable to expect him to pursue a court remedy.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to begin care proceedings and its actions during the proceedings. The law prevents us from investigating the start of court action or what happened in court.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to take appropriate enforcement action against noise nuisance and breaches of planning control at a site near the complainant’s home. There is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council has handled these issues, and we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking.

Summary: We will not investigate Ms Z’s complaint about the Council reducing her care package. There is not enough evidence of fault.

Summary: Mr X complains about structures erected near his property that he considered were unsafe and erected without the appropriate planning permission. Mr X complained the structures were causing significant light glare into his property resulting in a loss of amenity. I have concluded my investigation having not made a finding of fault. Whilst I acknowledge that Mr X was subjected to light glare, I have not found evidence of fault by the Council in how it resolved the matter. Further, the evidence demonstrates that the Council visited the site where Mr X raised concerns about the safety of