Ashfield District Council (20 007 879)
Category : Transport and highways > Rights of way
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 11 Dec 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because it is not an administrative function of the Council to provide support in private land disputes and the matter itself has already been considered by the courts.
The complaint
- Miss Y complains the Council did not help and support her when she went to court about a land dispute against her neighbour. Miss Y says she lost her court case as she was representing herself in court without help.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate a complaint where the body complained about is not responsible for the issue being raised. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(1), as amended)
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I spoke to Miss Y and considered the information provided about her complaint.
What I found
- Miss Y is complaining about the lack of help she received from the Council during a private land dispute with her neighbour. Miss Y says she was not given support from the Council during the court proceedings and consequently lost her case. She says she has now been ordered by the court to pay the other side’s costs.
- Help and support for individuals during private legal matters is not an administrative function of the Council. As the Council is not responsible for providing this service, we do not have the power in law to investigate Miss Y’s complaint. Further, as the matter has been considered by the court, we do not have the legal power to investigate the complaint.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because it is not an administrative function of the Council to provide support in private land disputes and the matter itself has already been considered by the courts.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman