Rother District Council (23 012 321)

Statement Upheld Cemeteries and crematoria 28-Mar-2024

Summary: Miss C complained about the arrangements made for the burial of her mother at a Council run cemetery. We do not find fault with the location of the grave. However, there was fault by contractors on the day of the service and the Council was unclear about charges for a proposed disinterment. This has caused distress for Miss C. The Council has accepted these findings and at the end of this statement we set out action it has agreed to take to remedy the injustice.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (23 016 666)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Drainage 28-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint, brought by Mr Y, about the Council denying responsibility for flooding of their back garden. The complaint amounts to a claim that the Council is liable for the flooding and damage to their property. We cannot make findings on legal liability for property damage. It would not be unreasonable for Mr and Mrs X to pursue their legal liability claim against the Council at court, to pursue the required legal finding and redress they seek.

London Borough of Newham (23 018 915)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Trees 28-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s maintenance of a tree it owns near her property and what it told her about the works which have been done and when the next works are due. Even if the Council was wrong about when the tree was last cut back, there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making process regarding its maintenance to warrant us investigating. Investigation of incorrect information given by an officer in 2023 about when the Council would next work on the tree would not lead to a different outcome, and we cannot achieve the outcome Miss X seeks from her complaint.

Bristol City Council (23 018 214)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 28-Mar-2024

Summary: We upheld this complaint about repeated missed assisted waste collections. The Council has now agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to the complainant.

Swindon Borough Council (23 017 604)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 27-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about missed refuse collections. This is because the Council has already taken suitable action in response to the complaint and the matter has not caused Miss X any significant personal injustice which is serious enough to warrant an investigation.

Trafford Council (23 013 190)

Statement Not upheld Refuse and recycling 27-Mar-2024

Summary: We have discontinued our investigation of this complaint about assisted bin collections. This is because the Council has said it will investigate further and reintroduce monitoring, and there is little more we could add to this at present.

London Borough of Lewisham (23 008 061)

Statement Upheld Antisocial behaviour 27-Mar-2024

Summary: The Council was at fault, because it did not give the complainant a clear explanation of the outcome of his anti-social behaviour case review application, nor invite him to the meeting. Although the Council has since offered to arrange a new meeting with the complainant, it has failed to actually do so. This has caused the complainant frustration and distress. The Council has agreed to make arrangements for this meeting now, and also to offer the complainant a financial remedy.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (22 017 225)

Statement Not upheld Antisocial behaviour 27-Mar-2024

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council have not taken sufficient action following reports she raised about anti-social behaviour. We have concluded our investigation having not made a finding of fault. The evidence demonstrates the Council investigated Mrs X’s reports, took action where it considered appropriate, and continued to monitor the case. We have not seen evidence of inaction or delay by the Council, and we cannot criticise decisions made properly.

Rother District Council (23 010 439)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Trees 27-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a technical error causing a delay in Mr X’s application for a Tree Preservation Order. There is insufficient evidence of injustice caused to Mr X by the matter.

Waverley Borough Council (23 018 233)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Noise 27-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to take enforcement action against Mr X’s neighbours’ construction works. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation.