The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint that the Council has shown support for Ukraine but not other countries affected by war. This is because the alleged fault has not caused Ms B a significant injustice.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will refer to as Ms B, complains that the Council has displayed the colours of the Ukraine flag on a Council building but not the flags of other countries which have lost lives due to war. Ms B says the Council should show flags for all countries affected by war or none at all.
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 an investigation if we decide: any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms B.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
Ms B has not suffered a significant personal injustice because of the alleged fault by the Council. So, an investigation by the Ombudsman is not justified.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman