Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about litter in her street. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault causing significant personal injustice. Also, an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to add anything to the Council’s response.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Ms X, complains about litter in her street.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. 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
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered Ms X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information she provided. I also gave Ms X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on her complaint.

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What I found

4. Ms X complains about problems with litter in her street. Ms X complained to the Council and it said it would pass on her concerns to its street cleaning team. Ms X contacted the Council and said she wanted more information about what would happen. The Council said it would send out a manager to visit where Ms X lives. But Ms X told the Council she had not been able to put up with the litter and it had been cleaned up.
5. The Ombudsman does not look at all the complaints we receive and only investigate the most serious. In deciding whether to investigate, we need to consider the alleged fault and injustice to the person complaining. We also need to consider what more an investigation could achieve.
6. Litter is frustrating and annoying; I therefore understand Ms X’s concerns. But the Council has provided what I consider to be proportionate and reasonable responses to her complaints. The Council agreed to clear away the litter, but this was not possible because of Ms X’s own proactive actions. Based on the evidence currently available, I do not think there is enough evidence of fault by the Council which has caused Ms X significant personal injustice. Also, it is difficult to see what more an investigation by the Ombudsman could achieve. The litter has now been cleared away and if there are further problems then Ms X should report them to the Council.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault causing significant personal injustice, and an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman