The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s supervision of a cemetery maintenance contract. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.
The complaint
Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure to properly monitor maintenance work to a cemetery which she says contains important wild plants. She says the Council contracted the maintenance to a private organisation 15 years ago and that a nature management plan in the contract has been ignored with damage to the environment as a result. She wants the Council to properly monitor and enforce this clause.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs x says the Council has failed to properly monitor a maintenance contract for a nearby cemetery, her conservation group has been asking the Council to ensure that the natural wildlife aspect of the cemetery is properly conserved but the contractors have felled trees, strimmed and cut the grass which has eliminated a lot of wild plants. She also says the use of pesticides has restricted what can survive.
We will not investigate this complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period and is late. Mrs X made a complaint to the Council in May 2024 and did not complain to us until October 2025, even though she warned the Council she would to do so in 2024. I have seen no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.
The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wished to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.
Final decision
We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s supervision of a cemetery maintenance contract. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman