Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Ms X’s reports of neighbour nuisance. This is because the neighbour has moved away and there is no worthwhile outcome an investigation can achieve.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X complains about the Council’s response to her reports of neighbour nuisance which she first reported in 2019. She says race and religious discrimination led to an inadequate response by the Council and she seeks an apology.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I spoke to Ms X and considered the information she and the Council provided, including the Council’s responses to her complaint made in 2020.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In May 2020 Ms X made a formal complaint to the Council about its response to her reports of noise nuisance by her neighbour. She suggested racism may have been an issue because the neighbour was white and the case officer had taken sides. The Council responded in some detail to set out the action it had taken, including serving the neighbour with a warning letter, but it did not uphold the complaint and found no evidence to support the allegation of racism. The Council’s final response to the complaint in October 2020 advised Ms X she could complain to the Ombudsman if she was unhappy with the outcome of its investigation.
6. Ms X continued to contact the Council about her neighbour and it offered her a noise recording kit which she declined. In May 2021 the neighbour sold the property and moved out. In August Ms X contacted the Council about her complaint and also submitted a complaint to us about its handling of her case.
7. We do not investigate every complaint we receive. We are funded by the public pursue and we have an obligation to use those funds in an effective, efficient and economic manner. This means that generally we will not investigate when the outcome sought is an apology or where an investigation is unlikely to achieve any useful purpose. I have seen no evidence to support Ms X’s allegation of racism.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the neighbour has moved away and there is no worthwhile outcome an investigation can achieve.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman