The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mr X’s report of asbestos debris on a public footpath. This is because an investigation is unlikely to add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his report of asbestos debris he found on a public footpath. He says it delayed in removing the material, having first gone to the wrong location, and that he faced difficulties and delay in getting a response to his complaint about the matter.
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 continue 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), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant, including the Council’s response to his complaint.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council did delay in removing the debris Mr X had reported, it did not give him the information he had requested and should have received when he attended Council offices in person and it delayed in responding to his complaint about the matter. The Council has apologised for its failings and explained to Mr X the steps it has taken to address the issues raised by his complaint.
While Mr X may not be satisfied with the Council’s response, we do not investigate every complaint we receive, and we will not investigate when we are unlikely to achieve a significantly different result.
wFinal decision We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation is unlikely to add to that already undertaken by the Council or lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman