The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s introduction of a charge for its garden waste collection service and the amount of the charge as the issues affect ‘all or most’ of the people in the Council’s area. It is unlikely we could get to the bottom of what happened when the Council first introduced the charge so long after the event and we do not consider the matter has caused Mr X significant injustice. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s response to his information request as it would be reasonable for him to take the matter to the Information Commissioner.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council has failed to provide evidence to show it gained approval to charge for its garden waste collection service. He also complains the charge for the service is higher than the cost to the Council. He has made requests for information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 but is not happy with the Council’s responses.
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) The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. We cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended) The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council introduced a charge for its garden waste collection several years ago. Mr X has recently moved into its area and believes the Council failed to follow the proper process in introducing the charge. But this is an issue which affects all or most of the people in the Council’s area and it is therefore not subject to investigation as set out at Paragraph 4.
It is also unlikely we could get to the bottom of exactly what happened so long after the event or that we could say it caused Mr X significant injustice. This is because he was not living in the area at the time and is only affected now as a result of his decision to move to the area.
The current amount of the charge is £58 per bin, per year but Mr X says this is too high. This is based on the income from subscriptions exceeding the cost of providing the service. But the service is available to all and the charge is the same to all residents, so this issue also affects all or most of the people in the Council’s area. We cannot therefore investigate it.
We also do not consider the injustice Mr X claims is significant or that it raises matters of significant public interest. Each resident will decide for themselves whether the service is worth the cost and if they decide it is not they do not have to use it. The cost is comparable with that charged by other local authorities for garden waste collections and if Mr X considers it does not provide good value for money he may wish to end his subscription to the service.
Mr X is also unhappy with the Council’s handling of his information request but the Information Commissioner is better placed to consider this issue. It may also order the Council to release any further information it holds which is relevant to Mr X’s request. We therefore consider it would be reasonable for Mr X to take this matter to the Information Commissioner.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the issues affect ‘all or most’ of the people in the Council’s area and do not cause Mr X significant injustice or raise matters of significant public interest.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman