Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about harm caused by fumes from a nearby council house and the Council’s involvement in more recent legal proceedings. This is because part of the complaint is late, and the law says we cannot investigate complaints about police investigations and court proceedings.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains about harmful fumes from a nearby council house and the Council’s conduct in a related police investigation and court proceedings. He says the Council’s actions caused him distress. He wants the Council to correct information it gave in court and pay him compensation, and a full investigation into the matter.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about action taken by or on behalf of any local policing body in connection with the investigation or prevention of crime. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, Section 26, paragraph 2 as amended)
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr B says harmful fumes coming from a nearby council house affected his and his wife’s health. He says these issues occurred over a period of several years. The Council has told us it became aware of this matter around ten years ago and took action to remove the source of the fumes at that time.
7. We will not investigate this part of Mr B’s complaint because it is late. If Mr B was unhappy with the Council’s involvement in this matter at that time, he could have approached us sooner. I can see no good reason why we should use our discretion to investigate.
8. Mr B complains about the Council’s conduct during a more recent related police investigation. He also raises concerns about the information the Council provided in subsequent court proceedings.
9. We cannot investigate Mr B’s remaining complaint because it is about the local policing body’s investigation and what happened during court proceedings. The law says we cannot investigate these matters.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint. Part of it is late, and the law prevents us investigating his remaining complaint which relates to police investigations and court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman