The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the time taken to complete repair works to streetlights. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome and any personal injustice suffered is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the length of time taken by the Council to complete repair works to several streetlights.
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: any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(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.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In its complaint response, the Council apologised to Mr X for the delays in completing the repair work. It explained the cause of delay and provided updates about the work it had scheduled.
I will not investigate this complaint because the alleged fault causing personal injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. And further investigation would not achieve a different outcome.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because doing so would not lead to a different outcome and any injustice suffered is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman