Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the unlicensed sale of alcohol, allegations of abuse against a relative, and the alleged criminal behaviour of a person he knows. This is because parts of his complaints are late and there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant investigating the part that is not late.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that alcohol was sold at his mother’s wake in 2023 without a licence.
2. He also complains that someone he knows abused and endangered his late mother.
3. Mr X says this same person is involved in criminal activities.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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)
5. 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.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

8. Mr X complains that liquor was sold without a licence at his late mother’s wake in 2023. He also says that someone abused and endangered his late mother.
9. Whilst I acknowledge his concerns, I will not investigate these two parts of his complaint because they are late. I have seen no good reason why Mr X could not have come to us sooner.
10. Mr X complained about alleged criminal activities of a Council employee. However, I can see that the Council have already advised him that criminal matters should be reported to the police. I have not seen enough evidence of fault to question the Council’s actions in relation to the allegations.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because parts of it are late and there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant investigating the part that is not late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman