Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to act on Mr X’s concerns about a neighbour. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault in the Council’s response.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained to the Council about noise in the early hours from a local resident who sits in the street at 3am and shouts to themselves.
2. Mr X says the person in question may be drinking but he is concerned they may need Council services and may also have care responsibilities. Mr X would like the Council’s Housing and Social Care departments to work together to take ownership to resolve the issue instead of looking for reasons not to act.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant which includes the Council’s responses. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council says it found no evidence the person in question is in need of ‘care and support’ as defined in the Care Act. It explained there were no good reasons to interrogate Housing Department records as it may breach data protection laws. It advised Mr X to contact the anti-social behaviour team or the Police.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s responses to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman