Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to Ms X’s concerns of a flag flying at the town hall in breach of the planning rules. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Ms X to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has failed to complete an investigation about why a planning application had not been submitted to allow the flying of a flag at the town hall and that it did not allow her to proceed to Stage 2 of its complaints procedure.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X complained to the Council about a planning breach whereby a flag was flown at the town hall without planning permission.
6. The Council responded to explain that it had investigated her complaint but that at the time it investigated it had found no flag being flown and so no planning breach could be established. It said it could not proceed with a planning enforcement case where there was no planning breach.
7. The Council told Ms X that as its response would be very unlikely to change at Stage 2 of its complaints procedure, her complaint had been considered at Stage 2.
8. While Ms X may be disappointed with the outcome of her complaint to the Council, we do not investigate every complaint we receive and in this case, there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Ms X to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Ms X to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman