Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council treated him differently to his neighbour when dealing with his noise and antisocial behaviour complaint. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making process to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council have incorrectly issued him with a Community Protection Notice Warning (CPNW) for noise and antisocial behaviour.
2. Mr X says that in issuing him the CPNW it has treated him differently to his neighbour, who he reported for the same things.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
4. 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)
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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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

What happened

8. The Council issued Mr X with an advisory warning letter in May 2023 for ‘home improvement’ noise coming from his property.
9. It asked Mr X to consider the times he completed these activities to avoid other residents being affected.
10. The Council received further reports of noise made by Mr X. It issued Mr X with a Community Protection Notice Warning in December 2023.
11. The notice was issued under the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act, 2014.
12. In June 2024 Mr X complained to the Council about noise being made by his neighbour.
13. The Council did not take any formal action against Mr X’s neighbour. It said it investigated the complaint and found it to be a one-off event. It gave advice to Mr X about using a noise recording app.
14. In its complaint responses to Mr X, the Council has clearly explained why he was issued with an advisory letter, CPNW and the decisions it made regarding his complaint about his neighbour. It has also provided advice on reporting any suspected criminal activity to the Police.

My assessment

15. The Council has taken the action we would expect in response to Mr X’s report. It has considered the evidence and its powers to act. It decided there were no grounds for formal action. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way it made that decision to justify further investigation.
16. Mr X has made further complaints to the Council since bringing his complaint to the Ombudsman. The Council have not had the opportunity to investigate these allegations, so it is too early for us to considering investigating them.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman