• The complaint
• The Ombudsman’s role and powers
• How I considered this complaint
• What I found
• Final decision

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Mr X complains that the Council has failed to properly investigate his complaint about noise and a breach of license for a dog breeding business next to his home. I have discontinued my investigation, as the Council has not received a complaint from Mr X and therefore has not had the opportunity to investigate and respond to the issues. The Council will now carry out a stage two investigation into Mr X’s complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council has failed to properly investigate his complaint about noise and a breach of license for a dog breeding business next to his home. Mr X says the increased noise levels are affecting his health and wellbeing and the enjoyment of his home.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered all the information provided by Mr X and discussed the complaint with him. I made written enquiries of the Council and took account of the information it provided in response.
5. I provided Mr X and the Council with a copy of my draft decision and invited their comments. I spoke to Mr X on the telephone and considered his comments.

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What I found

6. Mr X complained to the Council about the delay in responding to his complaint about noise nuisance and dog licensing.
7. In response to my enquiries the Council confirmed that it received a formal complaint from Mr X about the delay by the planning department in responding to his complaint. The Council has only responded to this complaint at stage one of its corporate complaint process.
8. The Council explained that it has not received a formal complaint from Mr X about the noise and dog licensing and these issues had only been considered as a service request. The service request was received on 14 June 2018 and following contact with the Council, Mr X indicated that he did not want to take the noise complaint further and was going to contact the planning department, which he did. The Council received no further noise complaints and the case was closed on 12 July 2018. The Council said the service request response was limited because Mr X did not complete the noise monitoring logs at the time.
9. The law says that, before investigating a complaint, we must be satisfied the Council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and to reply. Usually we expect people to have exhausted complaints procedures before we consider whether to investigate their complaint. Mr X has not complained to the Council about the noise issue or dog licensing and his complaint to the planning department has not been investigated at stage two. I have therefore discontinued my investigation and referred this complaint back to the Council to investigate and respond under its complaint’s procedure.
10. Should Mr X remain dissatisfied after the Council has dealt with his complaint, he can return to the Ombudsman for consideration of the substantive issues. He should do so within 12 months of the Council’s final response unless there is a good reason that prevents him from doing so.

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Final decision

11. The Council will carry out a stage two investigation into Mr X’s complaint. I have discontinued my investigation for the reasons stated above.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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