LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the behaviour of a Council employee during a educational needs meeting. There is insufficient injustice and it is unlikely our investigation would achieve a worthwhile outcome. We will not investigate the complaint about how the Council handled the complainants’ data as the Information Commissioner Office is better placed to investigate such matters.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about motorbikes in a local park. There is insufficient evidence of any significant injustice which would warrant an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about liability for Council tax as there is a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal and there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to collect waste bins due to industrial action. This is because we have no jurisdiction to investigate matters which affect all or most people in the Council’s area.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to collect waste bins due to industrial action. This is because we have no jurisdiction to investigate matters which affect all or most people in the Council’s area.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to address a barking dog Ms X has complained about. This is because the complaint is about events that took place more than 12 months ago; it would have been reasonable for Ms X to bring this complaint to us sooner.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to collect waste bins due to industrial action. This is because we have no jurisdiction to investigate matters which affect all or most people in the Council’s area.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Council tax discount as there is a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal. Further, there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating and there is another body better placed to consider her complaint about the Freedom of Information request.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice because Miss Y has already appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal about the same matter.

Summary: We found some fault by the Council on Mrs Y’s complaint about it failing to respond to correspondence. There was a delay replying to an email query she sent about her council tax account and responding to her stage 2 escalation request under its complaints procedure. The Council agreed to send Mrs Y a written apology for the fault found and carry out a review about the late stage 2 response. There was no fault on her complaint about it taking enforcement action against her.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint. The Council has offered a suitable remedy for the injustice caused to Ms X from living in a Bed and Breakfast(B&B) longer than six weeks. Ms X has review and appeal rights she can use to challenge the suitability of her current accommodation. There is not enough injustice from any remaining fault to justify further investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about information the Council has recorded about her and her children. The Council has already investigated and responded to Miss X’s concerns under all three stages of the statutory complaint procedure. It has apologised and offered remedial action for the injustice caused by the faults identified. We could not add to the Council’s responses.

Summary:  We will not investigate this complaint about A Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). The Council has accepted Mr X’s representations and transferred the liability to the hirer of the vehicle. As the issue has been resolved, further investigation would not achieve anything further.

Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about missed bin collections. The reason Miss X’s bin was not collected was because of industrial strike action which affects all or most of the Council’s residents, and the law says we cannot investigate.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in a safeguarding report. This is because there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by us investigating and we cannot achieve the outcomes Mr X is seeking.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about deductions from benefits for council tax arrears. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation and most of Miss X’s complaint is not within our jurisdiction.

Summary: Mr B complained that the Council failed to properly deal with his housing and homelessness complaints. We find that the Council failed to carry out a homelessness review, determine what duty it owed him, issue a written decision and appropriately address Mr B’s complaints. This caused him avoidable distress, uncertainty, and unnecessary time and trouble in trying to resolve his housing situation. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Mr B. It has also agreed to make service improvements.

Summary: Mr B and Ms X complained that the Council had failed to provide them with suitable accommodation. We find that the Council failed to properly consider whether to make a direct offer of accommodation, and failed to secure suitable accommodation after accepting it had a duty to do so. Mr B and Ms X have been left with uncertainty about whether suitable accommodation would have been provided if there had been no fault by the Council. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to Mr B and Ms X. It has also agreed to make service improvements.

Summary: We will not investigate Ms M’s complaint about the care of her daughter because there is nothing we could add to the independent investigation that has already been carried out. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify us investigating Ms M’s complaints. And we cannot achieve the outcome Ms M wants.

Summary: We cannot investigate Miss B’s complaint that the Council is taking too long to cut back nuisance trees at her Council-owned property. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by councils.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice. This is because it is reasonable to expect Miss X to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to make a late witness statement/statutory declaration.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council has unfairly quoted him for his dropped kerb. We find the Council was at fault for failing to be open and transparent with Mr X about why his quote was significantly more expensive than his neighbour’s. This caused Mr X frustration and led to confusion. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X for this injustice.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a breach of planning control. This is because we are unlikely to find fault.

Summary: Miss B complained about the Council’s decision to close her housing application as incomplete. We find that the Council was wrong to close Miss B’s application because she had provided all the required information. This caused Miss B unnecessary frustration, worry and inconvenience. The Council has already apologised to Miss B. It has also agreed to make a symbolic payment to Miss B, backdate her registration date and make service improvements.