Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council failed to act on her reports of anti-social behaviour because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council failed to act on her reports of anti-social behaviour from a neighbour including noise nuisance and threatening behaviour.
2. Ms X says the matter caused her distress and frustration.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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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. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint. In its complaint response, the Council told Ms X it decided the issues she reported did not amount to a statutory nuisance. To make that determination, it:
• installed noise monitoring equipment on three occasions;
• visited Ms X at her home to listen for noise;
• interviewed the person Ms X said witnessed intimidating behaviour; and
• issued a warning to the neighbour when Ms X said they threw rubbish into her garden.
7. While Ms X was unhappy with the noise and behaviour of her neighbours, the Council decided there was no evidence of a statutory nuisance or anti-social behaviour which it could act upon.
8. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
9. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making process to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

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

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman