The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to cut back overgrown vegetation along a pavement. An investigation would not achieve any additional outcome for the complainant.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council did not properly consider the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty when it failed to cut back vegetation overhanging the pavement along a busy road.
Mr X says the vegetation made it unpleasant for him to walk along the pavement, and he was concerned about the safety of others, particularly those with mobility and sensory issues.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We can 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. So, we do not start 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, or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(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, which included some of their complaint correspondence and an update on whether the vegetation has been cut.
I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In response to our enquiries, the Council confirmed it had now cut back the vegetation. This largely addresses any claimed, personal injustice to Mr X, and an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve much more for him. So, we will not pursue his complaint further.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to achieve any additional, worthwhile outcome for him.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman