The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to review its restrictions on his communication. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council has not accepted his request for it to review its decision to place restrictions on his communication with the Council between July 2023 and July 2025.
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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council placed restrictions on Mr X’s contact with officers due to the significant volume and repetitive nature of his correspondence. The Council wrote to Mr X and informed him of its decision and told him about his right to review in line with its policy.
Mr X sought a review. The Council considered the information he provided and decided it was not relevant. It explained to Mr X what information he needed to provide if he wanted to seek a review in future. From the documents I have seen there is no evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision, and therefore I cannot question the outcome.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman