The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to cut an area of grass on at least three occasions. This is because the matter has not caused Mr X a significant personal injustice which would merit an investigation.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains the Council failed to cut a patch of grass in its area on at least three occasions.
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) 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 the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained the Council failed to cut a patch of grass in its area on at least three occasions. Mr X says this caused him stress.
In its complaint response, the Council said its grass cutting team would be out that week to complete the work.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the matter complained about has not caused him a significant personal injustice which is serious enough to warrant an investigation by this office.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman