AGENDA ITEM
8
COMMITTEE: ADMINISTRATION
COMMITTEE
DATE: 11th FEBRUARY 2009
SUBJECT:
LOCAL GOVERNMENT OMBUDSMAN
RECOMMENDATION
REPORT BY: HEAD OF STREET SERVICES
CONTACT OFFICER: CELIA ROBB
IMPLICATIONS:
LEGAL
COMMUNITY
SAFETY
EQUALITIES ENVIRONMENT
FINANCIAL
CONSULTATIONS
STAFFING
OTHER
WARDS AFFECTED: NONE
PURPOSE
1.
To inform the Administration Committee of the Local Government
Ombudsman’s (“LGO”) finding of maladministration by Luton Borough
Council and his recommendation that the Council pay the complainants
£30,320 in compensation. A copy of the LGO’s report is appended to
this report.
RECOMMENDATION(S)
2. That
Administration
Committee
consider the LGO’s report and
decide whether the Council should follow the recommendation to
pay the complainants the sum of £30,320 or whether an alternative
course of action should be pursued.
BACKGROUND
3.
The LGO has investigated a complaint that the Council wrongly gave
consent for a vehicle crossover to the complainants’ property. When
Officers realised that there had been a mistake, the permission was
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withdrawn. The complaint was that, as a result of the erroneous
permission, the complainants incurred significant costs in altering and
landscaping their garden to accommodate a vehicle parking and
turning area.
4.
In correspondence with the LGO, Officers accepted that the Council
had made an error in granting permission for the vehicle crossover and
that this constituted maladministration. However Officers did not agree
that the amount of compensation sought by the complainants was
reasonable. This was because Officers believed that the complainants
had been informed of the error at an early stage and nevertheless
continued to work on the property. Furthermore, the Officers
considered that some of the compensation sought went further than
that incurred by consequence of the wrongly granted permission.
REPORT
5.
The LGO reported his findings on 15th December 2008. He concluded
that the Council’s error constituted maladministration causing injustice.
The LGO recommended that the Council pay the complainants a
contribution towards the costs of borrowing money to finance the
project, the costs of modifying the project, their legal fees in pursuing
the complaint, two thirds of the costs of landscaping and the sum of
£1,000 for raised expectations and distress.
6.
The Council is required to advise the LGO, within 3 months of receiving
the report, of the action it has taken or proposes to take in response to
it.
PROPOSAL/OPTION
7.
That Administration Committee consider the LGO’s report and decide
whether the Council should follow the recommendation to pay the
complainants the sum of £30,320 or whether an alternative course of
action should be pursued.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
8.
The LGO recommendation is that the Council pay the complainants
£30,320. This report was agreed by the Head of Finance on 29th
January 2009.
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
9.
There are the following legal implications to this report and this has
been agreed by Mary Cormack in Legal Services on 4th February 2009.
10.
It is for Administration Committee to decide whether the Council should
pay the complainants £30,320 as recommended by the LGO. If the
Administration Committee decides that the Council should not pay the
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recommended compensation then the LGO can produce a further
report with recommendations that would need to be considered by Full
Council.
11.
The Solicitor attending the meeting will be available to advise the
Committee in private on the Council’s legal position. The Committee
will need to resolve to exclude the public for this to be done.
HR IMPLICATIONS
12.
There are no HR implications as agreed with Head of Human
Resources on 4th February 2009.
APPENDIX
Appendix A: Report by the Local Government Ombudsman against Luton
Borough Council, 15th December 2008.
LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972, SECTION 100D
There are no background papers to this report.
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Document Outline
