The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the maintenance of a bridleway. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making to justify an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council failed to properly mend and maintain a bridleway he uses. He says that as a result, it is not safe for horses.
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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, 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.
My assessment
The Council carried out maintenance of a bridleway. Mrs X was unhappy with the quality of the work. He complained there were chunks of granite on the bridleway and along the edges. The Council responded and said after an inspection, it was satisfied with the work that had been done. It said there were some larger pieces of material on the track but these would work their way to the edges. It said the track was wide enough for people and horses to avoid them.
Mr X and the Council have differing views on the quality of the work. However, it is not the role of the Ombudsman to decide which is right. Our role is to consider whether there is any evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision. In this case, the Council listened to Mr X’s concerns, considered the work carried out and concluded the quality was satisfactory to meet the requirements of users. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council made this decision and, therefore, we cannot question the decision itself.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman