Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to issue a stop notice for faulty work on his extension. Or the delay in providing a Completion Certificate. We could not achieve any worthwhile outcome by carrying out such an investigation. Also, it is reasonable to expect the complainant to approach the Information Commissioner's Officer if the Council has failed to provide information he is seeking.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mr X, says the Council failed to issue a Stop Notice for faulty work on his extension. He also complains the Council delayed in providing a Completion Certificate. And that the Completion Certificate does not provide conclusive proof that the extension complies with all building regulations.
2. Finally, Mr X says the Council has failed to provide him with information he has requested.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

4. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So, where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X says the Council failed to carry out the proper checks and the building works should not have been allowed to continue to completion. However, while the Council will normally visit the site at various stages of the build, it does not act as a clerk of works or a site manager. The responsibility, for compliance with the regulations, rests with the building owners and builders. The council’s role is to uphold the building standards for the public in general rather than protect the private interests of an individual.
8. On request and when satisfied after taking 'all reasonable steps' that the regulations have been met, the local authority (or any private ‘approved inspector’) must issue a completion certificate. But a completion certificate is not a guarantee that all works are completed to the necessary standard. All the certificate can and does state is that, as far as the Council could tell at the time, building work complied with the building regulations.
9. The Council is not responsible for chasing up projects which have not sought a completion certificate. This is the responsibility of those who commissioned the work.
10. If Mr X believes the Council has failed to provide him with information he is seeking, he can ask the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to consider his concerns. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to refer the matter to the ICO as it is the body with specific powers and expertise to investigate access to information issues.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because a further investigation will not lead to a different outcome. And it is reasonable for Mr X to complain to the ICO if he believes the Council is withholding information which he is entitled to receive.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman