The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision he cannot access its household waste recycling centre with a van which is used for commercial activities. This is because there is no sign of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the Council’s decision he cannot access the Council’s household waste recycling centre with a van which is used for commercial activities.
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
I considered the Council’s household waste recycling centre Vehicle Restrictions Policy and terms and conditions which are published on the Council’s website.
My assessment
Mr X complained he was turned away from the Council’s household waste recycling centre, despite having a permit for his van, because he was driving a van which is used for commercial activities. Mr X explained his business does not have any commercial waste and he only intended to recycle household and garden waste.
In response, the Council explained that during the application process for the van permit, applicants are asked to confirm their vehicle is a private van and is not used for business or commercial activities. As Mr X’s van is used for his business it does not meet the terms and conditions for issuing of the permit and Mr X had incorrectly declared the van to be a private vehicle. As it did not meet the criteria, the Council cancelled the permit. It signposted Mr X to other available options to dispose of his waste should he not have access to a vehicle which meets the criteria set out in its policy.
Whilst I acknowledge Mr X is unhappy with the Council’s position there is no sign of fault by the Council here. It is for the Council to decide how best to manage access to the sites. It has a clear published policy and it has acted in line with this in deciding Mr X’s van does not qualify for a van permit and will not be granted access to its household waste recycling centres.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no sign of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman