Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about complaint handling. This is because it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaint handling where we are not considering the substantive matter.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains the Council failed to respond to his complaint promptly. Mr Y says this caused him inconvenience.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Mr Y complained to the Council about the environmental impact of a road change in his area in July 2021. He chased the Council for a response in August before contacting us in September. We advised Mr Y that usually people should complain to us if they have not had a response within a reasonable time, this usually being within 12 weeks. As it had been less than 12 weeks since he complained, we asked Mr Y to wait until the end of the 12 week period.
5. Mr Y then returned to us in October. We asked the Council to confirm whether it had completed its complaints procedure. The Council confirmed it had not considered Mr Y’s complaint at that stage. It then provided its initial and final response to Mr Y’s complaint in October, both of which denied fault.
6. Mr Y then asked us to investigate his complaint at the end of October. Mr Y also wrote to the Council in October, saying he did not wish to pursue his complaint about the environmental impact any further. He has since clarified to us that he does not want us to investigate his original cause of complaint which led him to complain to the Council in July 2021. Mr Y has asked us to investigate the Council’s handling of his complaint.

Analysis

7. While we aim to help people where we can, and where we decide it is appropriate to do so, we operate with limited resources. That means we only look at what we decide are the most significant and serious complaints.
8. In this instance, Mr Y has decided and confirmed to both us and the Council that he does not want to pursue his complaint about the road changes. As this was the issue which caused Mr Y to complain to the Council and to us initially, it is the substantive matter in his complaint. As he has now said he does not wish to pursue this issue further, it is not a good use of public resources for us to investigate the Council’s complaint handling where we are not investigating the substantive issue. We will therefore not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are not dealing with the substantive issue.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman