The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to reports of anti-social behaviour. This is because there is no worthwhile outcome achievable.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council failed to act on his reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in his block. Mr X said this meant he had to put up with ASB for a long period time and this caused him distress.
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 no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (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 September 2024, Mr X reported ASB to the Council. The Council said in October it replied to him and asked for further information about his concerns. Mr X replied, but the Council said it was still waiting for the information it needed and closed his case.
After Mr X complained, the Council offered to re-open his ASB case. Mr X said the problem resolved itself in March 2025, when the other resident moved out. The Council accepted there was a delay, when the ASB officer did not immediately reply to his concern. The Council said it took action to prevent this happening again.
We will not investigate this complaint, because there is no worthwhile outcome achievable. The Council’s initial decisions appear reasonable, and it has identified learning from Mr X’s complaint. And given there is now no likelihood of a recurrence of ASB, any investigation by us would not achieve any significant outcome for Mr X.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no worthwhile outcome achievable.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman