The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about missed and delayed Council bin collections, and about officers not including his evidence during their investigation. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant us investigating. The actions taken and planned by the Council are in line with what we would have sought, so there is no additional or different outcome to be achieved from us investigating.
The complaint
Mr X lives in a cul-de-sac. He complains the Council: has missed or delayed one of his bin collections almost every week, over several months; failed to take account of his evidence when investigating the reasons given by the bin crews for the missed collections.
Mr X says unemptied bins are causing smells on the road. He reports an increase in sightings of rats and mice, and says overflowing bins have attracted foxes which tip bins over. Mr X wants the Council to include his evidence and investigate the matter properly, return the bin collections to normal, and get the bin staff to record evidence to show when they say the road is blocked.
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; or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation; or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information from Mr X, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X’s bin collections have been missed or delayed in recent months. The Council says this has been because of variable access to his cul-de-sac, caused by parked vehicles on the road leading to his property. Mr X has disputed this explanation. He has sent the Council photographs and videos of the road, showing it clear from obstructions. The Council says these only show the situation at specific times and would not show the road stayed clear for when a bin lorry needed access.
There is not enough evidence here to warrant us investigating that it has been fault by the Council causing the missed or delayed bin collections. It is not fault by the Council which has prevented the bin lorries accessing Mr X’s road.
Mr X says the Council did not take account of his evidence when reaching its view on the cause of the bin collection issues. The Council’s response shows officers considered and responded to the evidence he provided. They explained why it did not confirm Mr X’s road was accessible at all times for the bin vehicles. The Council’s complaint response took Mr X’s information into account when considering his concerns. There is not enough evidence of Council fault on this issue to justify us investigating it.
The Council has also taken, or plans to take, actions to try to resolve the bin problems. It has placed the road on its monitoring list, so where a collection is missed an officer can attend and rearrange it for later that day, or the following day. Officers also intend to write to residents to suggest a designated bin collection point. These are the sorts of actions we might expect a council to take here. So there is no further or different outcome an Ombudsman investigation would achieve for Mr X.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because: there is not enough evidence of Council fault to warrant us investigating; and there is no further or different outcome to be achieved from us investigating.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman