The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about highway repair and maintenance because we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken and agreed to take.
The complaint
Mr Y complained the Council has failed to response to issues relating to the maintenance of the highway including the pavement when he has reported issues.
Mr Y says this leaves safety hazards for other residents near him and has caused him time and trouble in having to complain.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council in its final complaint response agreed that it had not responded in a timely manner to Mr Y’s reports of poor maintenance and the need for reports on particularly the main road in Mr Y’s area. It apologised for this and has spoken to its staff about the issues. It has considered what caused the issues and concluded this was in part due to staff sickness, but also identified a training issue which it has raised with its highways team.
The Council also met with Mr Y to walk in the area and identify issues with the highway. It has put together a programme of works which it says will enable it to consider the condition of the pavement and the highway and where needed to carry out repairs. It has also provided Mr Y with information about how regularly it intends to inspect its highways in the future.
In this case, the Council has acknowledged the issues and taken steps to both make repairs where it feels this is necessary and to prevent recurrence of the issues. While this may not fully satisfy Mr Y, it is sufficient to remedy the injustice caused and to satisfy us with the actions taken, combined with the actions the Council has agreed to take within its complaint response. Consequently, an investigation into this complaint is not justified and we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken and agreed to take.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman