The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council did not repair a streetlamp on her road. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault and Ms X has not been caused an injustice.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council did not repair a streetlamp on her road in an appropriate timeframe. She says the street was dark and unsafe. Ms X wants the Council to repair faults with streetlamps more quickly.
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.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X says a streetlamp on her road was not working and the Council delayed fixing it. The Council visited the streetlamp and found it operational in January and February 2021. In March 2021 the Council was told the light was not working. It replaced the bulb within three days.
Ms X complained to the Council in April 2021 and said the streetlamp was again not working. The Council visited the site in the same month and found faults. It repaired the faults, and the streetlamp was restored to working condition.
The Council fixed the faulty streetlamp within the same month that Ms X made her complaint. There is insufficient evidence of delay, therefore we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman