The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a dropped kerb because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because part of the complaint is late.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains about the Council’s decision that he is ineligible for a dropped kerb. He says this is unfair because some of his neighbours have dropped kerbs. Mr X has suggested the discrepancy may be due to his race.
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 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 cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X last applied for a dropped kerb in 2022. Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision to refuse the application. I will not investigate this part of the complaint because it is late. The Council refused the application in September 2022 but Mr X did not complain to us until 2025. I have not seen any good reason to investigate such a late complaint.
More recently, Mr X complained to the Council and said the 2022 decision was unfair and inconsistent because some of his neighbours made successful applications when their properties have the same dimensions as his. In response, the Council said the other applications were approved under previous dropped kerb policies which had different rules. Mr X does not accept this explanation.
I will not investigate this part of the complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. I asked the Council for information about other properties in Mr X’s road. I cannot share any of this information with Mr X, due to data protection rules, but I am satisfied Mr X’s application was correctly assessed and there is nothing to suggest the Council has been inconsistent in the way it handled the different applications, many of which go back many years. I have not seen anything to indicate Mr X has been discriminated against on the grounds of race.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because part of it is late and because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman