The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of matters relating to the clean-up of paint and graffiti which had been targeted towards his home. We will not investigate the complaint because an investigation is unlikely to add to the Council’s own investigation or lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, complains about the Council’s delay and poor quality of the cleaning it carried out to remove paint and graffiti which had been directed towards his home. He says he would have dealt with the clean-up himself much quicker had he known the limited nature of its assistance.
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 an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
I gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.
My assessment
Mr X complained to the Council about the quality of the assistance it provided in helping to clean up paint and graffiti which had been targeted at his home and about its delay in responding to him.
The Council explained it had removed what it could and while I understand Mr X was not happy with the action taken by the Council, I do not consider an investigation by the Ombudsman would be likely to significantly add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because an investigation is unlikely to add to the Council’s own investigation or lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman