Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to take planning enforcement action against the owners of a property in its area. This is because Mrs X has complained as a member of the local parish council and does not claim any personal injustice from the issues she complains about. Her complaint therefore falls outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, is a parish council clerk. She complains on behalf of the parish council that the Council has failed to take planning enforcement action against the owners of a property in its area. She says the owner’s actions, and the Council’s failure to act, have had a negative impact on the health and welfare of neighbouring residents.

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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 cannot investigate complaints from public bodies. (Local Government Act 1974, section 27(1)(a), as amended)
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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mrs X is not a neighbouring resident and does not claim her own injustice from the actions she complains about. Her complaints to the Council are on behalf of the parish council and set out the reasons for the parish council’s dissatisfaction with its actions and responses.
8. Mrs X is not complaining as a member of the public but rather on behalf of the parish council, a public body. The complaint therefore falls outside our jurisdiction to investigate.
9. However, even if Mrs X were to raise the complaint in a personal capacity or on behalf of one of the affected residents, her concerns relate to the Council’s actions dating back more than 10 years. It is therefore unlikely we would investigate as the complaint as it would be late.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mrs X has complained as a member of the parish council, which is a public body, and we have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints by public bodies.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman