The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr C complains the Council has repeatedly failed to collect his refuse, recycling and garden waste and he has spent unnecessary time, trouble and inconvenience. We have found fault by the Council but consider the agreed actions of an apology, payment and monitoring provide a suitable remedy.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr C, receives an assisted collection service and complains the Council has repeatedly failed to collect his refuse, recycling and garden waste between December 2020 and November 2021.
Mr C says because of the Council’s fault he has spent unnecessary time and trouble in trying to resolve the matter and suffered inconvenience in having to repeatedly represent his bins.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended) We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended) If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I read the papers provided by Mr C and discussed the complaint with him. I have considered some information from the Council and provided a copy of this to Mr C. I have explained my draft decision to Mr C and the Council and considered the comments received before reaching my final decision.
Background
Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling from properties in their area. The collections do not have to be weekly and councils can decide the type of bins or boxes people must use.
Council’s provide an assisted collection service for people who are unable to move their bins and boxes due to disability or age. In such cases, councils should collect the bins from the storage or agreed point and return them to the same place.
Most councils also provide discretionary services to collect garden waste and bulky items. Councils increasingly charge for these services.
Many councils use a contractor to provide their waste and recycling services on their behalf. In such cases the council retains responsibility for ensuring the quality of the service and is accountable if things go wrong.
Somerset Waste Partnership (SYP) manages household waste services on behalf of Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton Council, South Somerset District Council and Somerset County Council. For ease my statement refers to South Somerset District Council throughout.
Key events Mr C made a successful request for an assisted collection for his bins in November 2020. The request noted the bins would be left next to Mr C’s garage.
Mr C emailed his local councillor on 18 November about the Council using waste bins with no covers. The councillor replied to Mr C the same day to say they would pass his comments to the Council’s waste partnership.
Mr C reported a missed recycling collection on 23 November 2020. This was collected the following day. Mr C reported another missed recycling collection on 30 November. This was also collected the following day.
Mr C emailed his local councillor on 2 December seeking a reply about the open topped bins and to say not all his bins had been collected.
The Council responded to Mr C on 7 December to confirm his missed collection had been reported to its contractor and collected. The Council explained the missed collection had been due to a replacement crew unfamiliar with Mr C’s property. The Council also provided its reasons for not using lids on the recycling containers. Mr C responded the same day to report his recycling had not been collected that day. The Council apologised and confirmed this would be collected the next day.
Mr C confirmed on 14 December his previous missed collection had been collected the following day as promised but had been missed again that day. The Council replied to Mr C on 16 December and apologised for the continuing problems with the recycling collections. The Council had arranged for a supervisor to observe the collection at Mr C’s property.
The Council emailed Mr C on the morning of 11 January 2021 to advise there would not be the usual collection that day of recycling due to staff absence. This would now take place the following day.
Mr C emailed the Council on 23 February about the recurring problems before Christmas and although he had hoped the issues were resolved his bins had been missed again despite all his neighbours’ bins being collected. Mr C also asked if there was a notification system for when collections were affected by staff absence.
The Council replied to Mr C the same day to apologise and explain there had been COVID-19 related absences which had caused some collection issues but the most recent reported missed collection was due to crew error. This would be collected later that day and a further period of monitoring of collections at his property would take place. The Council provided details of where Mr C could find up to date information on any COVID-19 related issues affecting collections.
Mr C emailed on 25 February to report his garden waste bin had not been collected that day despite his neighbour’s being collected.
The Council responded on 26 February to apologise to Mr C for his continued inconvenience and confirmed the crew had not checked the system which showed his property had an assisted collection and the bin was presented by the garage. It was noted the previous missed collections were about recycling and a different depot was used for the garden waste. The Council confirmed the garden waste would be collected later that morning. Mr C emailed at 3pm to say the waste had still not been collected. The Council confirmed there had been a delay on the round but it would be collected by the end of the day. Mr C emailed on 27 February to say the bin remained where his gardener had placed it. The garden waste was not collected until 1 March.
Mr C emailed the Council on 8 March to report his recycling had not been collected that day although his neighbour’s recycling had been collected. Mr C explained it had taken several emails between 25 February and 1 March to get his missed garden waste collected. Mr C noted the cost to the Council of arranging five special collections over the previous few months. The Council noted on 9 March that there had been a new crew on this round and they had returned that day to collect the recycling and spoken to Mr C.
The Council wrote to Mr C on 11 March to apologise for the repeated missed collections over recent months and accepted the service had fallen below the expected standard. The Council noted the contractor had taken action which included putting in place automatic reminders with the crews and a check with the supervisor after collections which seemed to resolve the problem for a period. However, this system was not followed up when a new crew started. The contractor would raise the specific issues that had affected Mr C’s property with the new crew, provide an area alert to remind the crew on their handheld device to make the collection when they enter the area, regular checks by the supervisor and a check by the Operations Manager for a period. The Council also explained any missed collections were collected at the contractor’s own cost rather than at a cost to the public purse.
Mr C responded on 16 March to express his thanks for the above action and to confirm the collection had been correctly completed the previous day including with a visit by contractor manager. There were no further reported issues until May.
Mr C reported a missed garden waste collection on 17 May 2021. This was collected on 19 May.
Mr C reported a missed recycling collection on 6 July. This was collected the following day.
The Council emailed Mr C on 7 July to apologise. It was noted there had been changes to the service which meant different rounds and crews. There were also issues due to the national driver shortage. All collections would be monitored again for a period at Mr C’s property.
Mr C reported on 28 October that his compost bin had not been collected on 11 October. This was collected the same day.
The Council has provided details of enforcement action it has taken under the terms of the contract with its contractor.
My consideration It is clear from the information provided that there were repeated missed collections affecting Mr C's property from the end of November to December 2020. Monitoring of the collections appeared to resolve the issue until further missed collections from the end of February to March 2021. The Council took further action and monitoring in response to these further reports which again improved matters although there were three missed collections from mid-March to the end of October. Each time Mr C complained about a run of missed collections, the service would improve for a while and then deteriorate.
I am satisfied the Council’s contractor was not properly collecting waste from Mr C’s property. This failure was particularly poor given Mr C should have been receiving an assisted collection service. This fault caused Mr C unnecessary time and trouble in repeatedly reporting missed collections and increasing frustration when the issues reoccurred.
Agreed action
When a council commissions another organisation to provide services on its behalf it remains responsible for those services and for the actions of the organisation providing them. So, although I found fault with the actions of the contractor, I have made recommendations to the Council.
The Council has agreed to: provide a written apology to Mr C for the service he has received within one month of my final decision; pay Mr C £200 to recognise his time, trouble and frustration within one month of my final decision; and ensure effective monitoring of the collections from Mr C’s property for two months following my final decision and report the findings to Mr C and the Ombudsman to ensure service improvements are fully embedded.
Final decision
I have completed my investigation as I have found fault by the Council but consider the agreed actions above provide a suitable remedy.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman