London Borough of Enfield (25 017 475)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint the Council wrongly issued a Fixed Penalty Notice. The Council has upheld the complaint and taken corrective action. It is therefore not proportionate for the Ombudsman to consider this matter as further investigation will not lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council wrongly issued him a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for littering. He said the Enforcement Officer did not tell him he was being filmed, the Council sent the FPN to the wrong address and that it issued an FPN for an incident that did not take place.
- Mr X said the Council’s actions had caused significant distress and anxiety. He wants the Council to withdraw the FPNs and apologise.
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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council. That is because the Council has fully upheld his complaint and withdrawn the FPNs. It apologised for the faults identified and confirmed it has completed further training with the officer responsible for issuing the FPN. The Council’s actions remedy the injustice caused and reduce the recurrence of a further incident. It is therefore not proportionate for the Ombudsman to consider this matter further.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has fully upheld the complaint and taken appropriate action. It is not proportionate for the ombudsman to consider this matter further as further investigation will not lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman