The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complained about the Council’s burial charges for non-residents. Mr X’s father recently passed away and the Council charged the non-resident burial rate. This is higher than the amount charged to bury those who were resident in the Council’s area. Mr X wants the Council to refund the difference.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The role of the Ombudsman is to look for administrative fault. It is not our role to tell councils what policies and procedures they should operate. We do not act as appeal body and cannot intervene simply because a council makes a decision that someone disagrees with.
There is nothing to stop the Council charging higher burial rates for non-residents. Many other councils operate similar polices.
The Council has explained the rationale behind its policy to Mr X. It has considered Mr X’s request for a refund but has decided the non-resident fee should apply. Mr X’s father had not lived in the area for twenty years.
The Council seems to have properly applied its own published policy and there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman