Possible outcomes
There are a number of possible decisions the Ombudsman might reach:
No fault
Our decision might be that there has been no fault by the council. For example, we may find that the council has followed the correct procedure in reaching a decision even though you disagree with it.
Insufficient injustice
We might decide that even if the council is at fault, the effect on you is not serious enough to justify continuing to investigate the complaint. For example, if the council charged you £5 for one photocopy and you thought this was too much.
Local settlement
If we find that the council has done something wrong that has caused problems for you, we will often suggest to the council how it should put things right or resolve the complaint, and the council will agree. Or sometimes the council itself will make these suggestions. Either way we will take your views into account. If we think the result is fair, we will tell you so and stop our investigation. We call this a ‘local settlement.’ This may happen early on in the investigation when the council first responds to the complaint, or only after we have taken some of the steps described in How we will deal with your complaint.
Report
Most decisions are made by letter, but sometimes the Ombudsman needs to write a formal report about your complaint. This could happen, for example, if the council does not agree to the suggested settlement or if the Ombudsman thinks the issue is of particular interest to the public. If so we will send you and the council a draft setting out the main facts and asking for any suggested changes or comments. Unless there are special reasons, the report will be made available to the public. It will not give your name. If we find that the council has been at fault and that you have suffered an injustice as a result, we will recommend what the council should do to put things right. We cannot make councils do what we recommend, but they almost always do so.
Date Updated: 07/11/08