LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s decisions to allow removal of trees in his neighbour’s garden. Mr X said the loss of trees affects his amenity. We ended our investigation as it is unlikely to result in a finding of fault, a remedy for Mr X or others, or any other meaningful outcome.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice as the complainant, X, appealed against it to a tribunal. The matter is therefore no longer within our legal remit.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council has invoiced him for additional building control fees several months after the completion of his building work and without informing him of the cost in advance. This is because the Council is seeking to obtain payment only for services requested by Mr X’s architect on his behalf and Mr X would therefore always have had to pay its charges.

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint the Council’s electoral register is not showing the date she moved into her property or first applied for the register thereby harming her credit rating. The Council has not caused Ms X an injustice and we cannot achieve the outcome Ms X wants.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council calculated council tax support. This is because it would have been reasonable for the complainant to have used his right of appeal to the valuation tribunal.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to award a blue badge for Mr X. There is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delays in the Council reaching a decision on Mr Y’s planning applications. This is because he had a right of appeal to the Planning Inspector and it was reasonable to expect him to appeal if he was unhappy with the Council’s actions.

Summary: The Council was at fault when it failed to complete stage 2 of the statutory children’s complaints procedures within the timescales agreed in a previous Ombudsman investigation. It has agreed to pay Mrs X £100 to reflect the injustice these further delays caused her.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council requesting payment of council tax from Mr Y, or how the amount was affected by the Council’s decision on Mr X’s planning application for the property. This is because Mr Y had a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal, he used his right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, and there was no fault in the Council demanding council tax irrespective of what happened to the planning application.

Summary: Miss J complains about how the Council has dealt with her council tax support award. She says the amount it paid her was wrong. And it confused matters by changing an earlier discretionary decision to write off an overpayment. The Ombudsman’s decision is we will not look at whether the amount of council tax support was correct, as Miss J can appeal that issue. But we have upheld the complaint, as the Council’s administrative error led it to errors on Miss J’s council tax support account, that it then took some time to rectify.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint about a Fixed Penalty Notice. This is because only the courts can decide whether Miss B has committed a criminal offence.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to take action when he reported his landlord had erected a temporary structure in front of his property without planning permission. Mr X further complained about the way the Council handled his complaint about the matter. There was no fault in how the Council responded to Mr X’s report against his landlord. There was fault in the way the Council communicated with Mr X about the matter which the Council has agreed to apologise for.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint alleging the Council has not complied with Mr X’s request for a ‘district surveyor’ to inspect damp in his property. This is because there is no indication of fault by the Council.

Summary: There is no fault in the Council’s decisions on a housing transfer application. When Miss X supplied more evidence the Council’s increased her medical priority but there is no evidence that it should have backdated the decisions. It is not possible to reach a decision on what happened on a social workers visit, as it was a private meeting and the accounts do not agree.

Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of a planning application as well as a planning enforcement investigation. There was fault by the Council because it started but did not conclude a planning enforcement investigation. It also did not initiate a complaint investigation into Mr X’s concerns. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr X and offer a financial remedy to reflect the injustice to him.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a planning application. This is because it is not yet possible to determine if the complainant has suffered any significant injustice as a result of the alleged fault.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has issued parking permits to people living in a car free development. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and insufficient evidence of injustice. In addition, the decisions were made too long ago to allow for an effective investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the Council had not provided signs to warn of a restriction on motor vehicles driving in a pedestrian zone. Mrs X has a right of appeal to the London Tribunal, and it would be reasonable for her to use this.

Summary: Mrs B complained the Council did not secure the provision in her son’s educational, health and care plan. Mrs B says this negatively impacted her son’s academic progress and contributed to a decline in his well-being. We found fault with the Council because it did not secure provision in Mrs B’s son’s plan. The Council will secure the missed provision and make a financial payment to remedy the injustice to Mrs B and her son.