Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about an increase in memorial plaque fees. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman. We will not investigate some of Mr X’s complaint because it is late.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council increased the annual cost for memorial plaques. Mr X also complained about delays in the Council’s complaint responses.
2. Mr X said the issues impacted him financially.
3. Mr X wants the Council to reduce the cost of the memorial plaques.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organization.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council increased charges for memorial plaques. In its complaint response the Council explained it had completed a public consultation and had to increase costs by 15% to maintain services. It also explained Mr X’s fees had not increased between 2021 and 2023. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation, and therefore we will not consider this complaint further.
9. Mr X also complained about similar matters that happened in 2021, including delays in complaint responses and poor communication. These events are more than 12 months old. The law says we cannot investigate complaints older than 12 months unless we decide there are good reasons. If Mr X was dissatisfied at the time, he could have brought a complaint to the Ombudsman sooner. I have seen no good reasons Mr X could not have brought the complaint to us sooner. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
10. In any event, the Council used its discretion to waive his fee in 2021. Therefore, it resolved the primary issue at the time and an investigation would be unlikely to achieve anything further.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation. We will not investigate some of Mr X’s complaint because it is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman