Summary: We will not investigate Mrs Q’s complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to keep the streets around a hospital free from litter and dumped rubbish. This is because she may take the matter to the Magistrates’ Court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I have called Mrs Q, complained that the London Borough of Tower Hamlets is failing to keep the streets around a hospital free from litter and dumped rubbish.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mrs Q provided. I invited Mrs Q to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Background

5. Section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (the EPA 1990) places a duty on councils to keep the streets it is responsible for clear of litter and refuse “so far as is practicable”.
6. Section 91 of the EPA 1990 gives a person the right to serve a notice on a council and then go to a magistrates’ court for an order requiring it to remove litter and refuse.

What happened

7. Mrs Q works in a hospital. She complained to the Council about the streets around the hospital. She said the streets were covered with litter and dumped rubbish. She asked the Council to reinstate bulk container bins in the area.
8. The Council responded to Mrs Q’s complaint explaining what action it was taking to keep the streets clean. Among other things it said:

• it removed bulk container bins years ago as they were being abused by fly-tippers, local residents and businesses;
• residents’ waste was collected once a week and they were expected to keep their waste within the curtilage of their property until collection day;
• it had timed collections on key roads and streets around the borough, on which collections took place three or four times a day;
• officers patrolled “hotspots” and would take enforcement action, including issuing fixed penalty notices, when they found evidence;
• officers did daily random street cleansing inspections;
• removing dumped waste as soon as it appeared could encourage people to dump more waste, and was costly for the Council;
• it was conducting a survey and would take action against any businesses that did not have a waste contract in place.

9. Mrs Q remains unhappy with the Council’s actions. She said rubbish was left on the streets and the Council only collected it once a week. She said it was a breeding ground for vermin. Mrs Q also said buggy and wheelchair users could not get along the streets safely on some days because of the rubbish. She wants the Council to introduce recycling and waste collection bins at the end of streets so that residents have somewhere to put their rubbish.

Assessment

10. We will not investigate this complaint.
11. The Council’s duty to keep streets clear of litter and refuse is set out in section 89 of the EPA 1990. But this only applies “so far as is practicable”. It is for the Council to decide how to use its resources to meet its statutory duty.
12. The Council has told Mrs Q what action it takes and proposes to take to keep the streets clean. Mrs Q thinks the Council is not doing enough. However, it is not our role to decide whether the Council is complying with the duty placed on it by section 89 of the EPA 1990. That would be a matter for the Magistrates’ Court to decide. So, if Mrs Q believes the Council has failed to comply with its statutory duty, she may serve a notice on the Council under section 91 of the EPA 1990 and can then go to the Magistrates’ Court. If the Court agrees that the Council is not complying with its duty it may issue an order requiring it to clear the streets Mrs Q is concerned about. I think it would be reasonable for Mrs Q to take action through the Magistrates’ Court to achieve the outcome she wants.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mrs Q may go to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman