The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has decided the complainant cannot have a rubbish bin because her property is unsuitable. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, complains about the Council’s decision that she cannot have a rubbish bin. She wants the Council to provide a bin.
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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and the bin policy. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Ms X to comment on a draft of this decision.
My assessment
The Council’s bin policy says a property will be unsuitable for bins if there is no front garden or side entrance with space to store a bin.
Ms X lives in a property which has no front garden. The front door opens onto the pavement and there is no side entrance.
Ms X wants a bin. She finds it hard to use bags because they get ripped open and rubbish is strewn around the street. Ms X says there are properties in the street which have bins.
In response to her complaint the Council explained why Ms X cannot have a bin. It agreed some houses in her street, as an exception, have a bin but they have room to store bins at the rear with access via a communal alley which is shared by no more than four households. The Council explained that bins cannot be stored in the alley and this exception does not apply to Ms X’s home. The Council also said that most of the properties in Ms X’s street use bags.
I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council has explained why Ms X’s property is unsuitable for a bin and why she must continue to use bags. The Council’s decision is consistent with the policy so there is no reason to start an investigation.
We are not an appeal body and we cannot intervene simply because a council makes a decision that someone disagrees with.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman