The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s management of a headstone test it carried out on Mr X’s relative’s grave. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions and Mr X has not sustained a personal injustice due to this matter.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council failed to notify him when it was testing a relative’s headstone and questioned the force used to carry out the tests.
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 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 continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained to the Council after he visited a relative’s grave and found a notice stating the headstone was unsafe. Mr X was unhappy he had not been notified about the testing. He also queried the force used to test the headstone as he found it unstable when he visited it a few days later.
The Council did not uphold the complaint. It explained it was not practical to notify all grave owners of the testing but it had provided information on its website, social media and cemetery notice board. The Council also confirmed that Mr X was not the grave owner and would not have been notified in any event. The Council said the headstone had been tested twice and found to be unstable and it would return to test the headstone in 12 months.
Mr X has brought the complaint to the Ombudsman as he remains unhappy with its management of the headstone testing. There is no evidence of fault in the way the Council carried out the testing nor is there evidence that Mr X has sustained a personal injustice due to the way this situation was handled.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions and Mr X has not sustained a personal injustice due to the Council’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman