Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the way the Council dealt with a noise complaint investigation and the complaints process. This is because ongoing legal proceedings place Mrs X’s related complaint issues outside of our remit.

The complaint

1. In summary, Mrs X says the Council failed to handle a noise complaint investigation, and a subsequent complaint about the noise complaint investigation, properly. She says this has caused prolonged stress over two years.
2. Mrs X seeks an apology, an investigation, a financial remedy and service improvements.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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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. The courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by an organisation concerning a matter which the law says we cannot investigate. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
8. Mrs X raises instances of fault by the Council in a noise complaint investigation that has escalated to court proceedings. She also complains about its decision not to investigate her complaint via its complaints process.
9. The Council has advised it cannot investigate complaints about matters subject to legal proceedings.
10. Mrs X says she does not want the Ombudsman to consider the merits of the Council’s decisions and is raising issues such as delay, failure to follow procedures, poor communications and so on.
11. As outlined in paragraph three, we have no power to investigate matters in connection with legal proceedings. I consider there is no worthwhile outcome to investigating Mrs X’s complaint as her complaint issues are inexorably intertwined with the substantive noise complaint investigation. It would be impossible to separate out her complaint issues without also looking at the noise investigation, which clearly lies outside our remit.
12. Finally, there is no fault in the Council’s decision not to investigate her complaint as the legal proceedings disqualify her complaint from the complaints process.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it relates to matters subject to legal proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman