The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint the Council’s decision to evict Mr X from his allotment. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council has evited him from his allotment unfairly. He is seeking a reversal of the Council’s decision.
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 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 the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained about the Council’s decision to evict him from his allotment.
I have seen the Council has given Mr X a reasoned explanation for its decision and ensured the decision has been made correctly by investigating this for him.
The Council is entitled to make a decision about conduct it considers to be acceptable. Where it considers conduct is unacceptable it does not have to provide an allotment.
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