The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of matters relating to a nuisance dispute. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, complains about the Council’s handling of nuisance complaints raised by her and her neighbour.
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 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 any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, 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 Ms X and the Council, including its responses to her complaint.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X complained to the Council about its handling of matters relating to a nuisance dispute between her and her neighbour.
The Council responded under the two stages of its complaints procedure and, while it acknowledged there had been some delay in responding to her complaint, it found no evidence to support her claim that officers had treated her in a derogatory, unprofessional and disrespectful manner.
While I understand Ms X is disappointed with the outcome of the Council’s investigation of her complaint, there is no evidence to suggest fault by officers in their handling of her case sufficient to warrant an investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman