Summary: We will not investigate this complaint the Council did not enforce a prohibition order. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to take enforcement action against his neighbour for breaching a housing prohibition order. Mr X said the Order restricts who can enter his neighbour’s property. Mr X said he had sent the Council evidence his neighbour was not complying with the Order.
2. Mr X also complained the Council did not put his complaint through all stages of the corporate complaint’s procedure. He said that meant the Council had not considered his complaint properly.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. In the Council’s response to Mr X’s complaint, it said it continued to monitor his neighbour’s property for compliance with the prohibition order. It said it was gathering evidence of any breaches and would then determine whether legal proceedings were appropriate. The Council said it could not provide additional information because it was confidential. It confirmed its investigation was ongoing.
7. We will not consider this complaint further. The Council has confirmed it continues to monitor the address and collect relevant evidence. It has also met with Mr X and is aware of his evidence around potential breaches. It has said it is still deciding whether to take legal action. The Council is actively engaged with the case. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
8. We will also not investigate how the Council considered the complaint. First, it is not a good use of public resources to consider complaints handling where we are not looking at the substantive issue. In addition, the Council’s policy states it can use discretion to depart from its two-stage procedure. In this instance, the Council has set out its reasons for dealing with the complaint at stage two. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman