Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint the Council pinned an enforcement notice to a gate rather than serve it on him personally. A complaint about the handling of Mr B’s personal data is better considered by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). And any concerns about the validity and requirements of the enforcement notice carry rights of appeal to the Planning Inspector.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr B, complains the Council pinned an enforcement notice to a gate rather than serve it on him personally. Mr B says the enforcement notice contained personal and sensitive information and was opened by a neighbour.

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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.
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

4. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
5. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about:

• delay – usually over eight weeks – by an authority in deciding an application for planning permission
• a decision to refuse planning permission
• conditions placed on planning permission
• a planning enforcement notice.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the information Mr B’s solicitor provided when making this complaint. This includes the complaint correspondence with the Council. I sent a draft decision to Mr B’s solicitor and invited comments before I made my final decision.

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What I found

7. While Mr B and his solicitor consider the Council has breached Mr B’s confidentiality and failed to properly serve the enforcement notice, the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint.
8. The Information Commissioner (ICO) has the power to consider if the Council has properly handled Mr B’s personal data. It is reasonable to expect Mr B to raise this part of his complaint with the ICO.
9. And the Ombudsman would not investigate a complaint about the enforcement notice itself because it is reasonable to expect Mr B to use his right of appeal to the Planning Inspector.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because a complaint about the handling of Mr B’s personal data is better considered by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). And any concerns about the validity and requirements of the enforcement notice carry rights of appeal to the Planning Inspector.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman