The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council addressed his concerns relating to road maintenance. There is no evidence of fault.
The complaint
Mr X said the road near his home is in poor condition meaning the drainage is ineffective because of the poor state of the road camber. Mr X said this causes a hazard and is worried about the possibility of damage to his home.
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))
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 told the Council about the poor state of the road surface near his home. The Council inspected the road and considered Mr X’s requests. It decided it did not need to do carry out any work relating to the drainage and gave him an explanation for why this was the case. I have not seen any evidence of fault in the Council’s response, it made a decision it was entitled to make and decided no action was necessary. It also replied to Mr X about his complaints about this.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman