Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with reports of antisocial behaviour by a neighbour. There is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council failed to take appropriate action in a timely manner when she reported her neighbour for antisocial behaviour. She also complains about its handling of the matter; she says its communication was poor and inconsistent. She also says certain staff members were disinterested in her case and made unhelpful and rude comments.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. The Council said it met with Mrs X to understand her concerns. It said it also explained the remit of its antisocial behaviour department in the meeting. It reviewed Mrs X’s case based on the evidence provided and explained the additional information it requires to consider her case further. This request is in line with the Council’s published policy which says it relies on evidence provided by complainants to decide the best course of action. I appreciate Mrs X is unhappy, however there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision to justify an investigation.
8. Mrs X complains about the Council’s poor communication and the inconsistent information she was provided with. She also says its staff were rude and uninterested. The Council apologised to Mrs X and explained it had spoken to the relevant staff about the matter. I will not investigate this aspect of her complaint because any fault in this matter alone has not caused Mrs X a significant enough injustice to justify our involvement.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman