Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council not removing graffiti from an NHS building she manages. Complaints made on behalf of a public body and not as a member of the public are outside jurisdiction. The maintenance of an NHS building is not an administrative function of the Council.

The complaint

1. Mrs X is the manager at an NHS property. She complains the Council:
1. delayed in responding to her report of graffiti on the building;
2. when they did attend, officers went to the wrong location.
2. Mrs X says there is awful graffiti on the building which is not pleasant for the users of the service. She wants the Council to come to the right property and remove the graffiti.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate complaints from public bodies. (Local Government Act 1974, section 27(1)(a), as amended)
5. We cannot investigate a complaint where the body complained about is not responsible for the issue being raised. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information from Mrs X, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mrs X has complained in her role as the manager of an NHS building. We cannot investigate complaints from people who are not complaining as members of the public and who are complaining on behalf of a body delivering public services. The NHS is such a body because it was created to deliver services for the public good and is mainly funded by national government. Complaints made on behalf of a public body and not from someone complaining as a member of the public are excluded from our jurisdiction. Mrs X’s complaint is therefore outside jurisdiction and we cannot investigate it.
8. Furthermore, the upkeep or maintenance of an NHS-run building is also not an administrative function which falls to the Council. It would be for the NHS to maintain its premises, not the Council. This is a further reason why the complaint is outside our jurisdiction and we cannot investigate. The Council made a goodwill gesture to visit the building to remove the graffiti. On Mrs X’s account, officers attended the wrong building. But in any event, the Council’s goodwill visit does not create a duty for it to maintain NHS buildings, and does not bring the complaint into our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because:
• her complaint is made on behalf of a public body, in her role within that body and not as a member of the public; and
• maintenance of NHS buildings is not an administrative function of the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman