The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a replacement street litter bin. The Council has agreed to replace the bin but cannot say when. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
Ms B says the Council is fobbing her off with her request for a replacement litter bin. Ms B has spent around nine months contacting the Council for a replacement litter bin. Ms B wants the Council to replace the bin because of the litter problems in the area.
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: any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In March Ms B asked the Council to replace a street litter bin. The Council acknowledged the request but did not provide any further reply. Ms B chased the Council several times and finally got a response in November saying it would replace the bin as soon as possible.
Ms B asked the Council for a second bin to which the Council quickly responded to say it did not have the resource to install new litter bins. It reviews each quarter where has the highest need and whether it can move under used bins.
Ms B suggested a bin which the Council could move, and the Council agreed. It said it cannot do it immediately and cannot say when it will move the bin.
The Council took too long to respond to Ms B’s requests for a replacement bin, and that is service failure. While I recognise this was frustrating for Ms B and she had some unnecessary time and trouble chasing the Council, I do not consider Ms B’s injustice is significant enough to justify our involvement.
The Council has agreed to replace the bin but cannot say when it will do the work. I recognise this is frustrating for Ms B but further investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because the Council has agreed to replace the bin but cannot say when. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome. There was service failure by the Council in how long it took to respond to Ms B, and it did not give a proper first response to her complaint as it did not tell her how she could escalate her concerns, the injustice caused does not justify further involvement by the Ombudsman.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman