The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council corresponded with him about his eligibility to remain on the electoral register. This is because he has not demonstrated that he has suffered a significant injustice.
The complaint
Mr X complains about how the Council communicated with him about his eligibility to remain on the electoral register and how it dealt with his complaints about this matter.
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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (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
The Council wrote to Mr X to ask him to clarify some information in order for the Council to be satisfied that he was eligible to remain on the electoral register.
I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. Mr X provided the information requested and remained on the electoral register. Whilst Mr X says the Council’s enquiries caused him confusion I do not consider this alone amounts to a significant injustice.
It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has not suffered a significant enough injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman