Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the conduct of a civil enforcement officer and the Council’s complaint handling. This is because there is insufficient personal injustice caused to warrant us investigating further.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the unprofessional conduct of a civil enforcement officer. He says the officer told him to move his car, but he says he had permission to park there. He also complains about how the Council handled his complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X says the civil enforcement officer told him to move his car when he was parked on a driveway with permission from the property owner.

He also complains about the conduct of the civil enforcement officer.

6. We do not investigate all the complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate we need to consider various tests. These include the alleged injustice to the person complaining. We only investigate the most serious complaints.
7. I appreciate Mr X is unhappy with the way the civil enforcement officer treated him, and that he had to move his car and pay to park elsewhere. But the injustice he claims is not significant enough to warrant us investigating.
8. Mr X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with his complaint. But it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not sufficient personal injustice caused by the matters complained of to warrant us investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman