LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that the complainant cannot join the housing register because she does not meet the residency rules. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to add an extra room to the complainant’s home. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because we cannot investigate a council when it is acting as a landlord.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council is wrongly applying a high hedge remedial notice as there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: Mrs X complained about the way the Council handled her granddaughter’s behavioural and educational needs, that the Council failed to support her as a special guardian, and delayed responding to her complaint. Mrs X said the lack of support caused unnecessary distress, stress, and made her ill. She also said her granddaughter lost out on educational support. Largely we do not find the Council at fault. However, we find the Council at fault for delays handling Mrs X’s complaint. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Mrs X to reflect the injustice caused.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that the complainant cannot join the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the recovery action for business rates. The complaint is about how the Council conducted court action and we cannot consider this.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an unsuccessful application for a dropped kerb. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax liability and council tax support. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal and it is not a good use of public resources to investigate this complaint about complaint handling.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint that she suffered injuries after tripping on a pavement. This is because it is reasonable for Mrs B to pursue her compensation claim at court.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about errors by the Council in the handling of the complainant’s council tax. This is because the Council has offered a satisfactory remedy.

Summary: Mr D complains the Council failed to correctly investigate his reports about rats and mishandled his complaint. The Ombudsman has not found evidence of fault by the Council in respect of the pest control issue. The Council has already acknowledged fault in the complaints handling. In view of this the Ombudsman has upheld the complaint and completed the investigation because there is no outstanding injustice.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his neighbour’s first planning application. This is because the complaint is late and we could not say the Council’s actions affected its decision or caused Mr X significant injustice. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his neighbour’s second planning application as there is not enough evidence of fault.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to compensate him for paying his mother’s care costs when he had difficulty accessing her savings. This is because there is no sign of fault by the Council and an investigation by this office could not add to the response already provided via the Council’s previous investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s enforcement of a penalty charge notice as Mr X could have sought recourse through the courts.

Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s failure to protect trees near her home before they were cut down. We found the Council at fault for not responding to a request to make a tree preservation order to protect the trees. The Council agreed to apologise to Ms X for the distress arising from the uncertainty about whether the trees might have been protected.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax for an annexe because the problem has been resolved.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about Penalty Charge Notices. This is because Mr Y has used his right to appeal so we cannot investigate.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about traffic noise. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating and there is a body better placed to consider the issue raised.

Summary: the Council was not at fault for refusing to pay for a dropped kerb for Mr B. It properly considered his needs, so we cannot question its decision.

Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s actions after something that happened at his son’s school. I have discontinued my investigation. This is because we cannot investigate what happens in schools and there is no evidence that the Council’s investigation and assessment or complaint handling caused significant injustice to Mr X.