The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to repair damaged bollards and its handling of the matter. There is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and any injustice to Mr X is not significant enough to warrant our involvement.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s decision not to repair damaged bollards. He feels they are unsightly and dangerous. He also complains about delays in receiving a response from the Council.
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 injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) 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 and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In its complaint response, the Council said it investigated the issue and found any damage to the bollards was not a safety defect requiring intervention under its policy. It told Mr X it would continue to monitor the situation.
I appreciate Mr X is unhappy, however there is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision so we cannot question the outcome. Further, I do not consider that the damage to the bollards or the delay in responding to Mr X has caused him a significant enough injustice to justify our involvement. Therefore, I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault or significant injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman