The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s alleged decision not to respond to the complainant. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. We have not seen enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
The complaint
The complainant, I shall call Mr X says the Council refuses to respond to his correspondence.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we have not seen enough evidence of the alleged failure to respond to him which justifies an investigation.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman