The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to his report of his neighbour dismantling and storing asbestos material. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to take action against his neighbour who dismantled asbestos roof tiles and stored them in his garden prior to collection. He says the material is hazardous and that he may have been put at risk by the demolition process.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether an organisation’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended) 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 provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X reported the activities of his neighbour to the Council in 2021 when he saw him dismantling asbestos roofing tiles with a hammer. He was concerned that he may be exposed to hazardous material and wanted the Council to take action.
The Council investigated the site the same day and decided that it should not take action because the work was within a domestic setting and it did not breach any legislation or regulations related to asbestos. The Council told Mr X and his Member of Parliament that a householder may remove asbestos material within his own home and either take it to a Council disposal site using specific bags or employ a specialist contractor to dispose of it. The neighbour had informed the Council that he had chosen the latter procedure.
When considering complaints, we may not question the merits of the decision the Council has made or offer any opinion on whether or not we agree with the judgment of the Councils’ officers or members. Instead, we focus on the process by which the decision was made. I have considered the steps the organisation took to consider the issue, and the information it took account of when deciding what action to pursue. There is no fault in how it took the decision and I therefore cannot question whether that decision was right or wrong.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to his report of his neighbour dismantling and storing asbestos material. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman