Summary: Ms X complains about Council restrictions on the permitted lay out of her son’s grave within one of its cemeteries. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council and an investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, says she has been prevented from having the type of grave and surround that she wants for her son because of the Council’s restrictive policy which she says had not been made clear to her.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Ms X and the Council. I gave Ms X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Following the death of her son, Ms X chose a lawn grave plot for him at one of the Council’s cemeteries.
6. Subsequently Ms X sought to place full length kerbs on her son’s grave. However, the Council told her that this would not be possible due to the layout of the cemetery’s lawn sections. It explained its policy did not allow for full kerbs for lawn graves because of the operational difficulties in maintaining the areas this would cause.
7. Unhappy with this decision, Ms X complained to the Council about its rules. The Council responded first to Ms X’s councillor and then under the two stages of its complaints procedure. It acknowledged that arranging a funeral was very upsetting and that choices were often made with funeral directors without first visiting the cemetery. However, it said to aid awareness of the options available it had produced forms and leaflets to help people make their decisions and that this information was given to families at the time of completing the burial/grave forms. It noted that, regrettably, Ms X had chosen a lawn grave on the form she completed.

Assessment

8. It is very unfortunate that, during a very difficult and distressing time, Ms X chose a lawn grave for her son without realising the implications of this for the type of grave she wanted for him. However, the Council has its policy, the merits of which the Ombudsman has no role in reviewing, and it properly followed it. I have seen no evidence of fault in the way the Council dealt with matters.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council and an investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman