Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with breaches of planning control and advertising consent. This is because the complainant has not suffered significant injustice. The complainant also has a right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.

The complaint

1. Mr X has complained about how the Council has dealt with breaches of planning control and advertising consent. Mr X says the Council has treated him unfairly and its enforcement investigations have been disproportionate. Mr X has also complained about how the Council dealt with his complaint and says it shared information with third parties.

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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. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b), as amended)
4. 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.

5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
6. 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:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. The Council has a duty to investigate possible planning breaches. Mr X can appeal to the Planning Inspector if the Council decides to take formal enforcement action against him. I consider it would be reasonable for Mr X to use his right to appeal, and the Ombudsman will not usually investigate when someone has the right to appeal.
9. Mr X says the Council has threatened to prosecute him for displaying signage without the necessary permission. But the Council has not yet started legal proceedings against Mr X. Therefore, I do not consider he has suffered significant injustice in this regard. If the Council does decide to prosecute Mr X the matter will be considered by the court.
10. Mr X has also complained the Council shared information about its investigations with a third-party, breaching data protection law. However, Mr X can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if he is concerned about how the Council handles personal data as this is the appropriate body to consider complaints about these matters.
11. Mr X has complained about the Council’s complaint handling. However, where the Ombudsman has decided not to investigate the substantive issues complained about, we will not usually use public resources to consider more minor matters such as complaint handling.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has not suffered any significant injustice. Mr X can appeal to the Planning Inspector if the Council decides to take formal action against him for planning breaches.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman