Council Slammed as Complaints Soar

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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on July 23, 2008 at 20:02

Sensationalist journalism. The complaints are about falsely issued parking tickets and stuff like that. Nothing to do with their competence or ability to administrate the borough. In fact they were commended on how quickly they returned information to the Ombudsman. The picture is different to the rest of the country but is it different to Hackney or Tower Hamlets or even Islington?

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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on July 25, 2008 at 17:48

I wouldn't agree if the suggestion is that complaints are minor and inconsequential. A parking ticket issued falsely probably wouldn't seem trivial if you're the one ticketed.

Appeals to the Ombudsman are only allowed after two attempts have been made to get the local authority to correct the problem. My current complaint in with the local government ombudsman has nothing to do with parking tickets or 'stuff like that'. It runs to 44 pages and has everything to do with their competence and ability to administrate the Borough.

My complaint involves Haringey's Application to itself for a permanent gambling premises licence at Alexandra Palace; not using their discretion to consult where they should have; pretending they had discretion under the Gambling Act over the right-to-occupy, where they had none and acted unlawfully; convening a Hearing where the chairman was a judge in his own cause, plus a host of related examples of maladministration.

For those who are unaware, it may not come as a surprise to learn that Haringey granted itself their licence on 24 April, after putting their Licensing Authority in an impossible position and placing improper pressure on it.

As for speed of responses, LBH might respond quickly to requests for information from a regulator, but if you're a simple citizen seeking information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you will be lucky to get a response within the statutory 20 working days. Most recently I got an answer on the 20th day, but that was not normal; sometimes it can take months.

The overall level of complaints reflect LBH's long-time attitude that, by and large, they are a law unto themselves. Haringey always know best. Apologies and taking responsibility when things go wrong are exceptions.

Sensationalist journalism? I think not.

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Permalink Reply by JBjazz on July 25, 2008 at 9:44

This report does not surprise me at all. I had to lodge a formal complaint with the council last year (I didn't pursue it with the ombudsman) just to get my roof repaired after they failed to turn up to survey the damage on 3 occasions and then refused to acknowledge it as an emergency despite the fact that water was literally pouring into my bedroom (for 3 months from first reporting the leak). Once the formal complaint was lodged they changed their attitude completely. I was extremely disappointed to have escalate matters to such a high level just to get what was initially quite a basic repair.
I disagree that this is entirely sensationalised journalism.

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