Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mrs X’s anti-social behaviour (ASB) complaint. This is because some parts of the complaint are late and there are no good reasons to consider it now, and therefore outside our jurisdiction. Of the parts remaining, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained that she has made complaints to the Council in 2023 and 2025, regarding harassment by other residents. Mrs X stated that the Council has failed to investigate the matters accordingly. Mrs X states this has caused her to feel victimised and discriminated against as a result.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mrs X raised matters spanning several years. I will not be investigating those complaints from 2023 as it is a late complaint, and I have not seen any evidence of good reasons why it was not raised to us within 12 months.
8. Mrs X also complained about more recent incidents involving residents including nuisance, harassment and threats
9. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes the Council followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether a complainant disagrees with the decision the Council made.
10. The Council investigated each matter, considered the evidence supplied by Mrs X and spoke with relevant parties. It concluded that the evidence was insufficient to support the claims that Mrs X made. I have also considered the context of Mrs X’s claims she was discriminated. Given the Council’s responses in this matter there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because some of it is a late complaint and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to consider it now. Additionally, there is not enough of evidence of fault in its handling of recent complaints to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman