London Borough of Waltham Forest (19 005 487)
Category : Environment and regulation > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 02 Sep 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr X complains about receiving a Fixed Penalty Notice for obstructing the highway. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because Mr X can refuse to pay the notice and defend himself in court.
The complaint
- Mr X believes the Council incorrectly issued him a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for depositing materials on the highway to the interruption of user.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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
- there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6), as amended)
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the information provided by Mr X.
What I found
- The Council issued an FPN to Mr X under section 148(c) of the Highways Act. There is no right of appeal against an FPN issued on these grounds. But if Mr X disputes the offence, he can refuse to pay the FPN and present an argument at court in defense of any prosecution.
- The Ombudsman cannot interpret the law or decide Mr X’s liability for the offence the Council says he has committed.
Final decision
- I will not investigate his complaint. This is because if Mr X disputes the offence, it is reasonable for him to put forward his argument in court, should the Council prosecute him for non-payment of the FPN.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman