The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about complaint-handling. There is not significant enough injustice to warrant investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complains about how the Authority dealt with his complaint. He says the complaints process was flawed because it lacked impartiality and did not provide adequate reasons for the decisions reached. Mr X says this caused him uncertainty, frustration and anxiety, and led to a loss of confidence in the Authority.
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 Authority.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X told us he is not complaining to us about the outcome of his complaint to the Authority, just about the Authority’s handling of that complaint. We do not normally investigate an Authority's complaint-handling in isolation where we are not investigating the underlying matters that gave rise to the complaint. It would not be a good use of our resources to do so. The frustration, uncertainty and loss of confidence Mr X says he experienced are not, in themselves, a significant enough injustice to warrant an investigation by us.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not significant enough injustice to warrant investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman