Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the impact of a road closure on Miss X’s business. This is because we cannot achieve the outcome Miss X is seeking and she can take the matter to court.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council did not inform her about a road closure near her business. She said the road closure had a negative financial impact on her business and her mental health. Miss X wanted her customers to use her business as usual and for the Council to refund her lost costs.

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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 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Miss X complained the Council did not notify her about a road closure near her business premises. She said the road closure had led to a loss of income for her business.
7. Miss X wanted reimbursement for loss of earnings at her business. However, we do not normally recommend remedies that reimburse loss of earnings. This is because we are unlikely to be able to reach conclusive findings on such matters through our investigations. We cannot usually prove a clear and causal link between the fault and the claimed injustice of lost earnings. There are often other reasons, personal circumstances and choices involved. Such payments are therefore best resolved by the courts.
8. We will not investigate this complaint because we cannot achieve the outcome Miss X wants. It is reasonable for Miss X to take the matter to court and seek redress this way.
9. In its complaint response, the Council apologised for the delay in responding to Miss X’s complaint. It told Miss X it had put measures in place to improve complaint handling.
10. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we decide not to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we cannot achieve the outcome she is seeking and she can take the matter to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman