Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (19 011 835)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Cemeteries and crematoria 11-Dec-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms B’s complaint the Council is not maintaining a family grave. Further consideration of the complaint is unlikely to find fault by the Council.

Coventry City Council (19 011 656)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Cemeteries and crematoria 06-Dec-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s interment charges. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.

Birmingham City Council (19 010 776)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Cemeteries and crematoria 05-Dec-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms B’s complaint about the condition of the cemetery where her parents and brother are buried. Further consideration of the complaint is unlikely to find fault by the Council.

Bristol City Council (19 011 722)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Cemeteries and crematoria 02-Dec-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a mistake by the Council which led to his mother being buried in the wrong plot. This is because an investigation by the Ombudsman would not achieve anything more for Mr X.

Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council (19 004 731)

Statement Not upheld Cemeteries and crematoria 27-Nov-2019

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to ensure her father, Mr Y, was buried properly. She also said the cemetery workers employed by the Council behaved inappropriately. She said this caused her and her family distress and upset. There was no fault in the Council’s actions.

London Borough of Lambeth (19 010 757)

Statement Upheld Cemeteries and crematoria 20-Nov-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about problems the complainant had in getting a memorial plaque for his late father’s grave. This is because the Council has already provided a fair and proportionate remedy and it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome.

Gedling Borough Council (19 006 324)

Statement Not upheld Cemeteries and crematoria 18-Nov-2019

Summary: Mrs X complained about the actions taken by the Council when it removed the surround from her mother’s grave without her knowledge and then, after it had agreed to lay grass on the grave, failed to properly care for it. Mrs X said this caused her and her sister distress. The Council was not at fault.

North East Lincolnshire Council (19 000 900)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Cemeteries and crematoria 05-Nov-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint that the Council removed and destroyed a gravestone. This is because the events being complained about occurred many years ago, and the Ombudsman is unlikely to be able to uncover evidence to establish whether the Council acted with fault.

Sunderland City Council (19 002 773)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Cemeteries and crematoria 15-Oct-2019

Summary: Mrs X complains about the way the Council has responded to her allegation that it illegally exhumed her late uncle’s ashes and refuses to confirm the new location. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint as it is unlikely that further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

Derbyshire Dales District Council (19 001 038)

Statement Not upheld Cemeteries and crematoria 04-Oct-2019

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council buried her son in an area of a cemetery it should have known had flooding problems. The Council was not at fault for allowing the burial in that area as there was no evidence of persistent flooding issues at that time. The Council has acted appropriately by taking action to remove excess water in the area and it will take further measures to continue to address this. It has also offered to undertake remedial work to remedy any damage caused to Mrs X’s son’s grave by flooding.