Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint about whether the Council failed to comply with conditions on a grant it received. This is because the Ombudsman does not have power to investigate a complaint about something affecting all or most of the inhabitants of the Council’s area.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains the Council did not comply with conditions attached to a grant it received to prepare some land for housing development. Mr B states this means the area’s council taxpayers will have to bear a loss of £2.4 million to the Council.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. We cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
3. The Courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mr B provided. I shared my draft decision with Mr B and considered his comments on it.

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What I found

5. The Council received a grant intended to enable the release of some Council-owned sites for housing development by 2020. Mr B says the Council has not complied with the grant’s terms and conditions and the intended timetable cannot be met. He reports this means the area’s council taxpayers will have to bear the cost of £2.4 million Mr B states the Council spent dealing with difficulties related to sites for which the Council received the grant.
6. We do not necessarily pursue every complaint that a council has done something wrong. We must consider the effect of the alleged fault. Here, the effect is on the council taxpayers. Therefore the alleged fault affects most of the inhabitants of the Council’s area. This means the restriction described in paragraph 2 above applies so I shall not pursue this complaint.
7. Mr B is also dissatisfied with how the Council handled the matter once concerns arose, including the amount of notice given before a meeting to consider the matter, the conduct of that meeting and the time taken to reply to requests for information. These points relate to the Council’s actions in respect of the substantive issue about the grant. So, as paragraph 3 explained, we cannot investigate those points either.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction as it affects most of the residents of the Council’s area.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman