The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about planning enforcement action taken by the Council against the complainant. Part of the complaint is late and we have no jurisdiction to investigate other parts.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr Y, has complained the Council was wrong to prosecute him for a breach of planning law in 2017. He also complains about the actions of a Council officer before the prosecution.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. We have no discretion in this. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended) We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr Y. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
In summary, the complaint is about the Council’s decision to prosecute Mr Y in 2017. Mr Y did not complain to us until August 2020 when we advised him to pursue his concerns with the Council.
Final decision
We cannot investigate a complaint about the court action itself. Any complaint about the Council’s actions before the court action is late, and was late in August 2020. There are no reasons to exercise discretion to investigate a complaint about this now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman