The Ombudsman found that the Council had failed to provide a formal complaint response to Mr A and said that this caused uncertainty and frustration for Mr A. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to, within 4 weeks, provide the complaint response, apologise for the delay and explain why this happened, and offer a £50 financial redress payment in recognition of the delays.