The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council consulted residents on parking restrictions where the complainant lives. It is not yet possible to determine whether the complainant has suffered any significant personal injustice because of the alleged fault.
The complaint
Mr X complains about how the Council has dealt with consultations on possible parking restrictions where he lives.
He also complains the Council delayed in responding to his complaint.
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: any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X raises concerns about how the Council consulted residents on parking controls where he lives. But the consultation has not yet been completed.
The Council has not yet decided whether there will be parking restrictions on his road, or the form such restrictions may or may not take. Therefore, I cannot know if Mr X has suffered any significant injustice because of any alleged fault with how the Council has dealt with the consultations. Mr X can return to the Ombudsman should he remain dissatisfied once the outcome is decided.
I acknowledged the Council delayed in responding to Mr X’s complaints. However, we do not consider the injustice arising from this failure alone is sufficient to justify an investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is not yet possible to say if she has been caused any significant injustice as a result of the alleged fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman