Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with reports of antisocial behaviour. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about how the Council has dealt with her reports of antisocial behaviour by two of her neighbours. Miss X wants the Council to issue the neighbours with a Community Protection Notice (CPN) and compensate her for failing to do so sooner.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X contacted the Council after an incident involving two of her neighbours. The Council subsequently issued the neighbours with CPN warnings. Miss X has made further reports of antisocial behaviour by the neighbours, but the Council has not issued them with CPNs.
6. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision not to issue CPNs. It considered relevant information including the reports Miss X made after warnings had been issued to her neighbours and concluded there was insufficient evidence to take further action. This was a decision the Council was entitled to make and in the absence of any evidence of fault, I cannot question the merits of the decision.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman