The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about delay in resolving issues with a traffic light. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault.
The complaint
Mr X complains that the Council delayed in fixing a traffic light. He says the Council treated him with contempt when he complained.
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.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says there were delays in fixing a traffic light, despite his calls to the Council and contractor. The Council says it took longer than usual to fix because officers visited and could not replicate the fault. Mr X says the Council took four days to fix the lights.
I will not investigate this matter as there is not enough evidence of fault. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint handling when we are not investigating the substantive matter.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman