Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council deciding not to take planning enforcement action over a flag being flown without permission. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to take enforcement action to stop a flag being flown without permission.
2. Mr X says this has affected his mental health; he wants the Council to take enforcement action and apologise to him.

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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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Councils can take enforcement action if they find planning rules have been breached. However, Government guidance states that councils should not take enforcement action just because there has been a breach of planning control. Planning enforcement is discretionary and formal action should happen only when it would be a proportionate response to the breach and expedient to do so.
8. The Council confirms it has considered the reported breach but that it does not consider the flag is causing harm and so it will not take enforcement action; this was a decision it was entitled to make.
9. I appreciate Mr X is unhappy with the flag which is being flown and with the Council’s decision not to take enforcement action.
10. However, the Ombudsman does not act as an appeal body for enforcement decisions. Our role is to consider if there was any fault in the way the decision was made.
11. I have not seen sufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council considered the reported breaches to justify investigation.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council considered his report of a breach.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman