Summary: Mr X complained about several issues relating to council services and wider public service issues in his area. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault or specific injustice to Mr X. Some issues affect all or most of the area’s residents and are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about his Council’s response to several issues in his area. These include planning, libraries, traffic flow, street lighting, green energy and future use of public buildings and land. He wants the Council to carry out suggestions he has made and to make service changes when he reports them. He says the Council has wasted public money on several schemes in the past.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response.

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What I found

5. Mr X complained about changes and access to local library services, street lighting, traffic flow and wider issues related to planning, development, green energy and health service mergers. Some of the latter issues concern either bodies which are not the Council’s responsibility (such as the NHS). Some affect all or most of the local residents, such as land use, future green energy or development of different sites, some of which are privately owned. The Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to consider complaints which affect all or most of the residents of a council’s area.
6. Mr X also complained about an occasion when he was unable to access computers at his library because a school event was taking place. The Council says adequate notice was given about this use of the facility. He also complained about the library closing for lunch without notice due to staffing problems. The Council says sometimes it is not possible to avoid unexpected staffing problems and the closure was not permanent.
7. Mr X raised complaints about street lighting not working and the Council advised him that he would need to report this through the proper channels for such service requests
8. 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. Most of the issues raised by Mr X did not cause specific injustice to him through fault. It is unlikely that the Council would be able to carry out the wider changes he is seeking.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault or specific injustice to Mr X. Some issues affect all or most of the area’s residents and are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman