Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council considered Mr X’s complaint about his planning application. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we cannot deal with the substantive issue.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to escalate his complaint to stage two of its complaint 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 no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(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 Mr X.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X appealed against the Council’s decision to refuse his planning application. He then complained to the Council about the way it dealt with his planning application.
6. His complaint to us is the Council failed to progress his complaint to stage two of its complaint procedure.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we cannot deal with the substantive issue. In this case the way the Council dealt with his planning application is at the heart of Mr X’s complaint. Further investigation of the Council’s complaint handling would not lead to a worthwhile outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman