Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to prepare a grave for her family member. The Council has already apologised, reduced the cemetery fees by £500, waived another fee, and implemented service improvements. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council failed to prepare a grave for her family member that died.
2. Mrs X said the matter caused her distress.

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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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(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.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X complained the Council failed to prepare the grave for a family member that died. She said on the day of the scheduled burial the grave was not ready. A Council officer later arrived and dug the grave. However, Mrs X said this caused significant distress and upset for her and her family. Mrs X complained to the Council.
7. In its complaint response the Council explained it found an error in its records. It said another grave had the same reference number, which meant the grave for Mrs X’s family member was not prepared. The Council offered to reduce the cemetery fees by £500 and waved the burial right transfer fees to acknowledge the distress caused. It told Mrs X it had put in place measures to prevent recurrence of the fault.
8. We will not investigate this complaint because an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome. The Council accepted fault, apologised, offered a fee reduction/ waiver, and put in place service improvements. Consequently, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because an investigation is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman