The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: A man complained that there had been no heating or hot water supply in his family’s temporary accommodation for six days. But we will not investigate this complaint because the Council has now taken suitable action to deal with the disrepair and the man is satisfied with its response.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if, for example, we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) & 24A(7))
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information Mr X provided about his complaint and the Council’s response to my enquiries in his case.
My assessment
Following Mr X’s complaint we made enquiries to the Council about his circumstances. In response the Council said its contractor was working on the hot water issue and it had provided Mr X’s family with temporary heaters. The same day Mr X reported that the hot water supply had been restored and he had received the heaters. He also confirmed that he was happy to close his complaint on that basis.
In the circumstances there is no need for us to start an investigation in Mr X’s case as the Council has now taken satisfactory action to address his complaint issues, and we could not achieve a better result than the one it has provided.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that his family had been without heating and hot water in their temporary accommodation for six days. This is because the Council has now taken action to resolve these issues to Mr X’s satisfaction, and we could not achieve a better outcome than that.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman