The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to take action against occupants of untidy properties. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Ms X, complains that the Council failed to act against three residents who store waste items outside of their properties, which Ms X considers look untidy. Ms X says the way the issue has been handled by the Council has caused her distress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
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 Council considered Ms X’s concerns and reviewed photographs provided by her. It considered the powers of enforcement it has but concluded enforcement against the occupiers of the properties in this case would be disproportionate. In reaching its decision it noted that it had not received any other reports about the issues raised by Ms X.
I will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council has dealt with the matter. The enforcement powers that the Council has are discretionary. Having considered relevant evidence, the Council is entitled to decide that enforcement is not appropriate. Whilst Ms X strongly disagrees with the Council’s approach, this does not mean the Council has done anything wrong.
I will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about how the Council has handled her complaints about these matters. This is because it is not a good use of public funds to investigate complaint handling, when we are not investigating the substantive issues.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman