Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council handled Ms X’s reports of anti-social behaviour. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council, and investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X says the Council did not adequately handle her complaints about noise and anti-social behaviour (ASB) by her neighbour. She says this has caused her distress and anxiety.

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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 impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. In June 2024, Ms X complained to the Council about anti-social behaviour and harassment by her neighbour. She also complained of the condition of her neighbour’s garden.
7. I have looked at the way the Council carried out its investigation. The Council has said it worked with partner agencies, including the Police, to review its full range of powers and find an acceptable resolution to the issue.
8. It advised Ms X that the condition of her neighbour’s garden could not be considered anti-social behaviour but carried out an inspection. Though it did not find it required further intervention, it said it would continue to monitor the situation periodically.
9. The Council also suggested Ms X upload her evidence to an ASB app so it could monitor and respond to the situation. The Council reviewed Ms X’s evidence but found it was not sufficient to take action. The Council offered Ms X mediation with her neighbour, but this was declined.
10. The Council held an ASB Case Review, which is a multi-agency meeting involving the Police. It agreed the evidence Ms X had provided was either not of an evidential standard or did not meet the threshold for anti-social behaviour. It decided the issue amounted to a difference in lifestyles and it would therefore not take any further action and closed the case. The Council rejected Ms X’s appeal of this decision. We are not able to challenge its professional judgement or overturn its decision if there is no evidence of fault in its decision making. I cannot see enough evidence of fault here and am satisfied the Council has acted in line with its ASB policy. We will therefore not investigate.
11. I also understand Ms X’s neighbour has now moved out, so our involvement is unlikely to add anything to the Council’s response.
12. Ms X also says the Council failed to record her complaints correctly. However, the Council noted Ms X had made varied complaints to officers across the Council. To allow it to more easily record and respond to her complaints of ASB, it allocated a Single Point of Contact who she could send her complaints to and who would give her weekly updates. While the Council accepted there were times it had not updated her weekly, it said it could not always provide the information Ms X wanted due to data protection. It has said going forward it will find a way to update complainants without breaching data protection and will share this learning point with the Community Safety Partnership Chair. This is a suitable response and is line with what we would expect. We could not add anything to the Council’s response, so we will therefore not investigate this point.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation, and we could not achieve a different outcome or add to the Council’s response.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman