The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council issuing a warning letter for littering. This is because the injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Miss X complains the Council issued her a warning letter for littering on private land. She says the Council does not have legal powers to issue her with a warning letter and she therefore considers the letter unlawful. Miss X says this has caused her anxiety and distress.
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 effect 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 the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We do not investigate all the complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate we need to consider various tests. These include the alleged injustice to the person complaining. We only investigate the most serious complaints.
I appreciate Miss X was concerned when she received the Council’s letter, but the injustice she claims is not significant enough to warrant investigation. The warning letter is, by definition only a warning and does not amount to formal action or prosecution.
Miss X says the Council does not have jurisdiction to issue warning letters for littering at the location where the alleged incident happened. But we cannot determine if the Council’s actions were lawful. This is a matter for the courts to decide should the Council decide to pursue prosecution.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman