Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions following reports of Anti-social behaviour. When considering this complaint, the Council agreed to apologise to Mrs X and provide a written update on its actions, to remedy injustice caused by its delay in responding to her reports. This is a suitable remedy for injustice. There are no wider public interest issues to justify investigating this complaint.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council failed to take effective action to prevent Anti-social behaviour (ASB) near her home. She said despite reporting this on numerous occasions, the Council has not responded, and she is still affected by ASB. Mrs X said this has significantly affected her enjoyment of her home.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. I spoke to Mrs X about her complaint and asked the Council for information about how it had dealt with her concerns.
6. Mrs X reported ASB to the Council in mid-May 2025. From the information available in the case notes, the Council did not take any substantive action to this report until October 2025, when it contacted her again after she followed this report up. This meant for around five months, Mrs X was left with uncertainty about whether the Council was taking any action in response to her reports.
7. After this point the Council provided evidence of how it met with Mrs X and then was trying to address the ASB, by working with the Police, and other departments inside the Council.
8. I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because the Council has agreed to remedy Mrs X’s injustice for the period where it was taking no formal action as mentioned at paragraph six. And for the period after this, given the Council’s actions, it is unlikely we would find fault in what it was doing to try and prevent ASB. The Council said it had a further meeting planned with other bodies in late April 2026, to discuss Mrs X’s concerns.

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Agreed actions

9. Within four weeks of my final decision, the Council has agreed it will:
• Write to Mrs X and apologise for its earlier delays.
• Provide Mrs X with a written update on what it has done and what it still has to do about her ASB reports, following its planned meeting in April 2026.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because any injustice has now been remedied and there are no wider public interest issues to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman