Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the decision to limit the ways in which she can contact her local council. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complained the Council has allocated her a Single Point Of Contact (SPOC) she must use when communicating with it.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council assigned Mrs X with a SPOC in February 2025. It wrote to Mrs X and explained its decision. The Council said it would review the arrangement in three months. In response to our enquiries the Council said it had extended the SPOC. It had sent Mrs X a letter explaining this.
7. The Ombudsman is not a right of appeal for people who disagree with a council’s decision. We have no jurisdiction to criticise a decision without fault in the decision-making process.
8. The Council has a published policy for dealing with ‘unreasonably persistent complainants’ and ‘unreasonable complainant behaviour’. It sets out examples of behaviour it considers unacceptable and the steps the Council might take.
9. Based on the information I have seen the Council has correctly followed its published procedure. It explained its decision to appoint a SPOC to Mrs X and reviewed the arrangements. Also, the SPOC does not stop Mrs X from contacting the Council, it instead sets out how Mrs X can do this. The decision to introduce and extend the SPOC is one the Council was entitled to take. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council for us to question its decision or to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman