Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a licence application for a temporary event. This is because an investigation will not usefully add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council gave him incorrect information relating to a licence application for a temporary event and that there was a lack of competence or care taken by the Licensing Department. He says the corrective actions taken by the Council to address the problem were not acceptable.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant, including the Council’s response to the complaint.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X complained to the Council about its handling of a licence application for an event covered by a Temporary Event Notice (TEN).
6. The Council acknowledged that the applicant had failed to tick one box on the application to confirm ‘regulated entertainment’ to allow for live music and that this had not been followed up by the officer as it should have been. It confirmed further training on the processing of TENs had been provided to officers to ensure future applications are fully checked and any issues resolved with the applicant. It apologised that Mr X had been given some incorrect information which had subsequently been corrected.
7. We do not investigate every complaint we receive and while Mr X may be disappointed with the outcome of his complaint to the Council, there are insufficient grounds to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation will not usefully add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman