Nottingham City Council (25 020 900)
Category : Environment and regulation > Health and safety
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 27 May 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mr X’s health and safety complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his health and safety complaint. He said this has had a serious impact on his mental health. Mr X wants the Council to acknowledge its investigation was flawed, apologise and have a senior officer with no previous involvement reconsider it.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X reported health and safety concerns to the Council, including alleged legal breaches by the company. The Council noted he had already raised concerns with the company and was pursuing a personal injury claim. It explained it could not investigate allegations of bullying, signposted him to equality and human rights services, and contacted the company for relevant health and safety documents.
- The Council said the company did not initially provide its risk assessments, so it considered whether enforcement action was needed. After further contact, the company provided its current assessment, which the Council considered met the required standards.
- We understand Mr X is unhappy the Council considered documents produced after its involvement. But there is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council reached its decision. It considered Mr X’s concerns, reviewed the relevant documents, and signposted him to the appropriate services. This is what we would expect and the Council was entitled to take the approach it did.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman