Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the conduct of the Council’s enforcement agency. This is because the law prevents us from investigating matters which are subject to court proceedings.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council did not properly investigate his concerns about its enforcement agency’s conduct towards him in relation to the Council issuing him Penalty Charge Notices (PCN). He also complained the Council delayed responding to his complaint. Mr X said the matter caused him distress and frustration. He wants the Council to carry out a thorough investigation into the conduct of the enforcement agency.

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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 a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Since Mr X’s complaint to us, the Council has said Mr X has started court proceedings against it in relation to the matters he complains of. As outlined in paragraphs two and three of this decision statement, the law prevents us from investigating matters which are subject to court proceedings.
7. As we cannot investigate the substantive matter of Mr X’s complaint, we will not look into how the Council managed his complaint. This is because we do not investigate standalone complaint handling as it is not a good use of public money to do so.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating matters which are subject to court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman