The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to replace a litter bin at a bus stop outside the complainant’s home. We are unlikely to find fault in the way the Council came to its decision.
The complaint
The complainant, I will call Mr X, complains the Council refuses to replace a litter bin at a bus stop outside his home. He says it removed a previous bin after it was hit by a car.
He says people drop litter in his garden.
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 Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X wants the Council to replace a bin which was removed from the bus stop outside his house after the bin was hit by a car.
The Council says it will not replace the bin. It says a Council worker would have to stop their vehicle, get out and empty the bin. It considers the location too dangerous to do so. However, it says it has asked its enforcement team to do all it can to resolve the problem of littering on and outside Mr X’s property.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because having considered the matter, the Council has decided not to replace the bin. This is a decision it is entitled to make.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman