The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to implement traffic calming measures. There is no significant injustice.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Council did not have sufficient publicly available records of its decision making, about the type of traffic calming measures it installed near where she lives. Mrs X is now concerned about how the Council spends public money. She said the Council’s decisions has caused her inconvenience.
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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In 2023, the Council consulted on a proposal relating to traffic calming measures on a main road near where Mrs X lives. In 2024, Mrs X asked for details about how the Council then decided it would install a mini roundabout and speed humps. The Council replied and gave Mrs X an explanation and Mrs X complained to us, because she was unhappy with the Council’s explanation.
Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
In addition, we will not normally investigate a complaint where the complainant is using their enquiry as a way of raising a wider community campaign about something of general concern.
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint here, because there is no evidence the Council’s decision on the traffic calming measures it chose to install, has caused her a significant injustice at a level serious enough to warrant an investigation.
Mrs X was also unhappy with how the Council handled her complaint, but we will not consider this, because it is not a good use of our resources to consider complaint handling where we are not looking at the substantive issues.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is no significant injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman