Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council refusing permission for work to be carried out to a grave. This is because the complaint is late. Even if we investigated, it is unlikely we would say there was fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complained the Council will not allow him to carry out work to his parents’ grave. Mr X says the problem has been ongoing for many years. The Council says it needs permission from Mr X’s sister as the other registered owner of the grave.

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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. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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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. We will not start an investigation into Mr X’s complaint.
8. The Ombudsman normally expects people to complain to us within twelve months of them becoming aware of a problem. We look at each complaint individually, and on its merits, considering the circumstances of each case. But we do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are good reasons to do so. I do not consider that to be the case here. I see no reason why Mr X could not have complained much earlier and so the exception at paragraph 2 applies to his complaint.
9. But even if the complaint was not late, we would not investigate. There is clearly a dispute between Mr X and his sister over their parents’ grave. The Council says both need to give permission for work to be carried out. That is frustrating for Mr X, but it does not mean the Council is wrong to take this position. Based on the evidence I have seen there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council. Even if the complaint was not late an investigation by the Ombudsman would not therefore be appropriate.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there is not enough evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman