Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the nature of development taking place within the Council’s area which Mr X believes is inappropriate. This is because we cannot investigate something which affects all or most of the people in a council’s area and because Mr X has not been caused any injustice sufficient to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, complains about the nature of development taking place within the Council’s area which he says is inappropriate given the Council’s stated planning, environmental and economic development aims.

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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 something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
4. 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 may decide not to continue with 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. The restriction highlighted at paragraph 3 applies to Mr X’s complaint and so it falls outside our jurisdiction to investigate.
8. Moreover, Mr X has acknowledged that he has not been directly affected by the matters about which he complains and there is insufficient injustice caused to him to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot investigate something which affects all or most of the people in a council’s area and because Mr X has not been caused any injustice sufficient to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman