Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s decision not to prosecute the business on whose premises he sustained a personal injury. We will not investigate the complaint 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 about the Council’s decision not to prosecute the business on whose premises he sustained a personal injury. He says the public are not being protected and that he has not been treated in a fair way by the Council.

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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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
6. I gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered what he said.

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My assessment

7. Mr X sustained a personal injury while on the premises of a business. The Council investigated the matter but decided not to take any enforcement action.
8. It is not our role to review the merits of decisions taken by councils if they have followed the right steps and considered the relevant evidence and information. While I understand Mr X does not agree with the Council’s decision, I have seen no evidence to suggest fault affected it.
9. In responding to my draft decision Mr X says he has discovered from a recent response to an FOI request he made that the business concerned made a false Health and Safety report which it gave to the Council. If he has new information not previously considered by the Council, then it is open to him to provide this to the Council for its consideration.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman