The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s proposals to consider problem traffic. That is because the Council has not yet completed consulting on its proposals, therefore there is insufficient evidence of fault in its actions.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the proposals suggested by the Council to address heavy traffic in the area that he lives. He said the Council’s proposals would increase traffic flow; that the Council did not seek his views on the proposals and that it did not consider petitions from the residents.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X contacted the Council in October 2021 about traffic problems where he lived. He said it failed to contact him back as agreed. Mr X complained the following month. The Council responded and provided details of its proposals to address the traffic. It said it would consult with local residents at the start of 2022. Mr X disagreed with the Council’s suggested proposals.
We will not investigate this complaint any further. The Council has agreed to explore proposals for addressing the traffic issues with the local community before making a final decision on what action to take. It will consider Mr X’s comments as part of that process. The Council has not yet made a final decision, therefore, there is currently insufficient evidence of any fault caused by its actions.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council considered the complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman