The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of matters relating to the classification of a watercourse. This is because an investigation by the Ombudsman cannot determine who owns or is responsible for the watercourse.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, complains about the Council’s handling of matters relating to the classification of a watercourse which goes over property he is considering buying. He wants the Council to accept the classification as recorded on the district council’s maps.
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 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 Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
For some time, Mr X has been involved in a dispute about who is responsible for a watercourse which has involved the Council, the parish council, the water company and affected local residents who have been asked to contribute to repair costs.
In responding to his latest complaint about the matter, the Council has told Mr X that it will not carry out work without satisfying itself of who has ownership/responsibility for the watercourse and that it has sought a definitive position from the water company on many occasions without success. It has now asked the water company to provide a public briefing so that all interested parties can seek clarification.
We do not investigate every complaint we receive. The fundamental issue here is who owns or is responsible for the watercourse, but this is not a matter we can determine.
Mr X has also complained about difficulties in obtaining information from the Council under FOI requests. However, the restriction highlighted at paragraph 3 applies to this aspect of his complaint as we would reasonably expect him to pursue matters through the ICO.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because an investigation by the Ombudsman cannot determine who owns or is responsible for the watercourse.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman