Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her complaint about a local business. Part of the complaint is late, there is insufficient evidence of fault in its enforcement decision and it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider a complaint about access to information.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has failed to take appropriate enforcement action following her complaint about a local business. She says the lack of action is putting the public at risk and causing her distress. She also complains the Council has refused to provide her with information to support her own legal action. She wants the Council to take enforcement action against the business and provide her with the information she requests.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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

4. 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

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. Ms X first raised concerns about the business in 2022. Ms X brought her complaint to us in November 2025.
8. We will not investigate the Council’s actions before November 2024. A complaint about its actions before this time is late. If Ms X was dissatisfied with the Council’s actions before this time, I can see no good reason why she could not have approached us sooner.
9. In 2025, Ms X formally complained to the Council. She said despite the Council’s own investigation identifying problems with the business, it had refused to take enforcement action and this ongoing refusal to act was putting the public at risk.
10. In its complaint response, the Council set out how it had considered her concerns. It acknowledged that during a health and safety inspection, it had identified evidence of poor practice. It said in line with its enforcement procedures, it first gave the business a chance to rectify the issues informally. It said it was satisfied with the actions taken in response and so it decided not to proceed with any formal action.
11. We will not investigate this part her complaint. Enforcement action by councils is discretionary. It is for the Council to decide whether to take informal or formal action, or not to act at all. The Council has explained its decision making to Ms X. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how it reached this decision to warrant an investigation.
12. In relation to a trading standards issue, the Council acknowledged that it had not appropriately investigated her concerns when she first raised them. It accepted this had caused uncertainty about whether it might have been able to take further action at the time. It apologised to her for this and offered her £500 in recognition of the uncertainty caused.
13. We will not investigate this. The apology and remedy payment offered is an appropriate remedy for the uncertainty caused. It is unlikely we would add to this or achieve a different outcome.
14. Ms X also complains the Council has refused to provide her with records related to its investigation. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s regulator for information rights and data protection. If Ms X is unhappy with the Council’s response to her request for information, the ICO is better placed to consider a complaint about this.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because part of the complaint is late, there is insufficient evidence of fault and the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider a complaint about the Council’s response to her request for information.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman