Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a blocked drain outside Mr X’s property. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, complains that it took two years for the Council to unblock a drain outside his property and that it only took the required action when he withheld council tax payments.

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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 effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X, including the Council’s response to his complaint.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X reported a blocked drain outside his property to the Council in 2019 which it says it cleared in 2019 and again in early 2020. In July 2021 Mr X contacted the Council again to say the blocked drain had still not been dealt with. The Council’s Highways service attended twice but could not get access to the drain due to the presence of parked cars. The drain has now been cleared and the blockage removed. We are unlikely to find fault in the way the Council has dealt with this matter in 2021.
8. The restriction highlighted at paragraph 4 applies to Mr X’s complaint. Events prior to 2021 fall outside our jurisdiction because Mr X could have complained to us about them at the time and it is too late for us to consider them now
9. Mr X stopped paying his council tax because he wanted the Council to clear the drain. He says he was going to put the council tax payments he should have made towards the cost of repairing his driveway which had been damaged by water from the blocked drain. However, Mr X’s liability for council tax exists as a separate matter to the blocked drain and cannot be linked in the way he has attempted.
10. The restriction highlighted at paragraph 3 applies to Mr X’s claim that fault by the Council led to damage to his driveway. It is open to him to make an insurance claim against the Council which, if unsuccessful, he can challenge through the courts. As he has this alternative remedy available to him which we would reasonably expect him to use, this matter falls outside our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman