Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the management of a cemetery. This is because there is no evidence of significant fault on the Council’s part.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs X, complains that the Council has reneged on agreements made with residents about the management of a cemetery.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X says she and other residents have had discussions with the Council over the management of a cemetery for a period of over two years. Specifically, she and others have raised concerns about damage caused to wildlife habitats within the cemetery.
6. Mrs X attended a site visit with officers in 2022. She says agreements were made regarding wildlife habitats and the establishment of a new Friends group for the cemetery. Her complaint is that the Council has reneged on these agreements. She also complains that the Council failed to inform stakeholders of its changed position, and about what she regards as the unreasonable tone of its responses throughout the complaints process.
7. In response to Mrs X’s complaint, the Council has set out that, as landowner and manager of the site, it is not required to consult on its approach to wildlife habitats or the removal of foliage. It has also set out why it has decided not to facilitate a new Friends group. It accepts that it was at fault in failing to communicate its changed position and has apologised to Mrs X.
8. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. Other than in its failure to communicate, for which it has apologised, there is no indication of significant fault on the Council’s part. It has clearly set out its position on each of the matters Mrs X has raised. Mrs X disagrees with the positions the Council has taken, but that does not mean they amount to fault. These are decisions for the Council’s officers to make. Without evidence of fault in the way a decision is made, the Ombudsman cannot criticise it, or intervene to substitute an alternative view.
9. Whether or not the Council’s decisions on these matters contradict the agreements Mrs X says were made is irrelevant. The Council is entitled to change its mind. It has properly set out its decisions and I do not find fault with the tone in which it has done so. There are insufficient grounds for the Ombudsman to investigate the complaint.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is no evidence of significant fault on the Council’s part.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman