London Borough of Lambeth (25 025 048)
Category : Environment and regulation > Licensing
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 02 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about licensing. This is because the claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant further investigation.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council did not properly answer his question about the permissions or licences needed for a planned event in his neighbourhood.
- He also says the Council delayed responding to his complaint.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council issued a final response to Mr X’s complaint in November 2025. It said Street Trading Licensing would be relevant if there was a commercial sales activity. It also said licensing would be relevant if alcohol was sold and the Events team would be involved if it was a significant event occupying Council land.
- The injustice Mr X claims stems from having to pursue a response from the Council about the permissions or licenses required for a planned event. While I acknowledge this caused Mr X some frustration, I do not consider it caused enough personal injustice to warrant an Ombudsman investigation. The Council has explained why the planned event was exempt from licensing and what other permissions might be required.
- Mr X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with his complaint. As we are not investigating the substantive issue, it is not a good use of public resources to consider how the Council responded to Mr X’s complaint. We will not investigate this matter.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant further investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman