The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s service for the registration of Ms X’s civil partnership. This is because there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council’s registration team booked her civil partnership ceremony at a location which was more expensive than others available and that these cheaper options were not discussed with her.
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))
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
Ms X contacted the Council’s registration service at the end of 2023 and advised that she was looking for her civil partnership ceremony to take place before January 2024 because she was traveling abroad in the new year. Given the time restrictions, the service offered to book Ms X’s ceremony at an office which had availability before January 2024.
In responding to Ms X’s complaint that she had not been told about cheaper options, the Council explained that these cheaper options get booked up a year in advance and that there was no availability to fit in with her travel plans. It confirmed that given these circumstances, it would not agree to her request for a refund.
While Ms X may have been disappointed to find there were cheaper options available to register her civil partnership, these were not available to fit in with the dates she had provided and so not discussed with her by the service.
We do not investigate every complaint we receive and here there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman