Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council renewing a sexual entertainment venue (SEV) licence to premises in a town in the Council’s area. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of personal injustice to Mrs X caused by any fault on the Council’s part.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complains that the Council renewed an application for an SEV licence for premises in a town against her concerns.

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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 must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered all the information which Mrs X submitted with her complaint. I have also considered the Council’s responses.

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What I found

4. Mrs X says she objects to the Council renewing the SEV licence for a club in a town in its area. Mrs X does not live within the Council’s area, but she believes the club should not operate on moral and welfare grounds of its employees.
5. The Council considered the application to renew the licence in 2019. It took advice from officers, the local Police and also considered submissions from objectors and the club’s representatives. The Council says the club has operated under similar circumstances since 2009 and that it decided to approve the licence subject to conditions advised by the Police.
6. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. In this case the application was properly considered, and the outcome causes no direct injustice to Mrs X who is not a nearby resident of the area.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of personal injustice to Mrs X caused by any fault on the Council’s part.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman