The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s delay in installing her dropped kerb. This is because the matter has not caused Mrs X significant injustice and it is unlikely we could achieve any worthwhile outcome for her.
The complaint
The complainant, Mrs X, complains the Council has failed to install a dropped kerb at her property despite having paid for the work to be carried out nearly four months ago.
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 effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We do not investigate all the complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate we need to consider various tests. These include the alleged injustice to the person complaining. We only investigate the most serious complaints.
I understand Mrs X is frustrated with the Council’s delay and its failure to provide a date for the work but the injustice she claims is not significant enough to warrant further investigation. It is also unlikely we could achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mrs X as the Council clearly does not have the capacity to meet the current level of demand and we could not reasonably say it must prioritise Mrs X's case over others which may have been waiting for longer.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council’s delay has not caused Mrs X significant injustice and it is unlikely we could achieve any worthwhile outcome for her in any event.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman