London Borough of Bromley (24 014 619)

Category : Environment and regulation > Licensing

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 31 Jan 2025

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council conducted an inspection of a cat boarding business. Mrs X did not complain to us within 12 months and there are no good reasons to accept the complaint now.

The complaint

  1. Mrs X is unhappy with how the Council conducted an inspection of her cat boarding business for licensing purposes in December 2022.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
  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.)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
  2. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. The law expects people to complain to us within 12 months of first knowing about the matter in their complaint. We will not investigate late complaints without good reason.
  2. Mrs X was aware of the matters in her complaint during December 2022 and had complained to the Council soon after. Mrs X could reasonably be expected to have brought her complaint to the Ombudsman sooner. Mrs X has not provided any good reasons why she did not complaint to us earlier.
  3. I recognise Mrs X complained again to the Council in 2024, but that is nearly two years later. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council. So long after the original events that is the case here.

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Final decision

  1. We will not investigate this complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons for us to accept the complaint now. Even if that were not so it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s own investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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