Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about charging for music lessons provided by the Council. There is insufficient evidence of injustice to warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains that the Council has unreasonably declined to adjust the payment she made for music lessons for her child.

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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 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 continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mrs X’s complaint concerns music lessons provided by the Council. Mrs X says she paid for lessons which her child was unable to access because he changed schools part way through the school year. She says she wants to Council the make a fair adjustment to the cost of the lessons to take account of the fact that they became unavailable to her child when he moved. She complains that it has declined to do so.
6. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. She says the disputed amount is under £50. This does not represent so significant an injustice as to justify our intervention. Neither is there evidence of so significant a public interest as to warrant scrutiny.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient injustice to warrant investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman