The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed refuse collections. This is because the issue affects most of the people in the Council’s area and because we cannot achieve the outcome that the complainant seeks.
The complaint
Mr X complains that refuse is not being collected regularly because of strike action. Mr X says the Council should offer residents a refund of their council tax. Mr X also complains about how the Council has dealt with his complaint about these matters.
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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) We cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
W cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the issues with refuse collections due to strike action are ones that affect most of the residents in the Council’s area and are therefore out of our jurisdiction.
In addition, in law there is no link between the charge for council tax and the provision of services by the Council. We therefore cannot achieve the outcome Mr X is seeking, as we would not recommend a refund of council tax for the missed collections.
Finally, we will not investigate how the Council handled Mr X’s complaint. This is because it is not a good use of public funds to investigate complaint handling when we have decided we cannot or will not investigate the substantive issues raised in the complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is about a matter that affects most residents in the area and because we cannot achieve the outcome that he seeks.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman