The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about changes the Council has introduced to the waste and recycling service. This is because the changes affect all the households in the Council area.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, complains about changes the Council has made to the waste and recycling service. She complains the Council only collects cardboard every four weeks and complains the Council has restricted the items people can put in the recycling bin. Ms X wants more frequent recycling collections and for the Council to accept more items for recycling.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
The law says we cannot investigate complaints about issues that affect all or most of the inhabitants of a council area. Ms X is complaining about changes to the recycling service which affect all the households in the area. For this reason, I cannot start an investigation.
Final decision
We cannot investigate this complaint because it is about an issue that affects all the inhabitants of the Council area.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman