The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that the Council used public money to pay for works on a public footpath when it could have sought payment from the landowner. This is because we cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council was wrong to use public funds for works carried out to remove an obstruction on a public footpath when it had the powers to charge the landowner. He says public money should not have been used to rectify offences that had been committed and as a local taxpayer he has been affected.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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) We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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 the complainant and the Council, including its response to the complaint.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complains public money was wrongly spent by the Council and he, as a local taxpayer, has been affected. However, as this would be the case for all taxpayers in the Council’s area, the restriction highlighted at paragraph 3 applies and we cannot investigate the complaint as it falls outside our jurisdiction. We have no discretion here.
Moreover, it is not our role to review the merits of decisions taken by councils with which complainants disagree. As Mr X has noted, the Council has the ability to recover costs from the landowner. However, this is a discretionary power and it is not obliged to do so.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman