Summary: Mr and Mrs D complain the Council has failed to stop a rat infestation. The Ombudsman has found evidence of fault by the Council because it has failed to show how it investigated the case. He has uphold the complaint and completed the investigation because the Council agrees with the recommended actions.

The complaint

1. The complainants (whom I refer to as Mr and Mrs D) and their Representative (Mr E) state the Council has failed to properly investigate their reports of vermin coming from neighbouring gardens in 2019. Mr and Mrs D also say that Officers visiting their home in September acted unprofessionally.

Back to top

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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I have spoken to Mr E and considered the information he supplied. I asked the Council questions and examined its response and case file.
5. I shared my draft decision with both parties.

Back to top

What I found

What happened

6. On 7 February 2019 Mr and Mrs D reported to the Council that a neighbour’s actions were attracting rats which were then coming into their garden. Seven days later a Council Officer visited and inspected the area. He found no evidence of vermin. He spoke to the neighbour and advised them how to ensure their actions did not attract vermin. The case was subsequently closed but the Council failed to notify Mr and Mrs D about the outcome.
7. On 23 July Mrs D emailed a Councillor about her case and said both sets of neighbours were attracting vermin into her garden. I understand the Councillor was on holiday and referred the email onto the relevant Council Officers at the end of August. On 11 September two Officers visited, Mr and Mrs D were not home but the Council states the Officers inspected a neighbouring garden and found no trace of rodent activity.
8. The two Officers revisited Mr and Mrs D on 18 September (the complainants state it was 17 September, I have no evidence to show which date is correct). There is no contemporaneous note of the visit by either party. The Officers in January 2020 recalled they inspected the gardens of both neighbours and Mr and Mrs D’s. they found no evidence of rodent activity. Mr and Mrs D contend the Officers were rude and failed to show ID. The Council subsequently closed the investigation as unsubstantiated.
9. On 11 October Mr and Mrs D complained to the Council. The Council sent a holding response on 20 November and a substantive reply eight days later. It had found no evidence of unprofessional conduct by the Officers. In December Mr and Mrs D said they did not accept the Council’s response. They declined an offer to meet and discuss the case. In January 2020 the Council received an escalated complaint. Officers gave statements on the case and the Council issued its response on 21 January. It accepted it had failed to explain the outcome of the initial February 2019 investigation. It apologised for this error and would ask the relevant teams to review processes. However, there was no evidence to support allegations about the Officers or to show there was a rodent problem.

What should have happened

10. When the Council receives a report about alleged rodent infestations caused by a resident it will log the case and assign it to an Officer to investigate. The Officer will visit the site and look for evidence of rodent activity such as, gnaw marks, odour, droppings, etc. If there is evidence of vermin coming from Council owned land the Officer will ask Pest Control to carry out treatments. If the problem comes from privately owned land the Council can serve an Enforcement Notice on the owner under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949. If the Officer does not find evidence of a significant rodent issue, they will close the investigation and notify the complainant of the outcome.

Was there fault by the Council

11. The Council has already acknowledged one error in this case. It failed to notify Mr and Mrs D of its decision regarding the February 2019 investigation.
12. I consider that Officers failed to make a sufficient record of their investigation in September 2019. I have no evidence of the site visits or what was considered in order to close the case at the time. At a minimum, I would expect a brief record of what evidence was looked at and how this informed a decision. In the absence of this evidence I cannot say whether the investigation was conducted in line with procedures.
13. Mr and Mrs D refer to delay by the Council responding to their July email. The email was to a Councillor not to the relevant service area which is how a report or query should be made. The Councillor was not at home, therefore there was a delay in the Council being informed. Once the Council was aware it replied in a reasonable timeframe. There is no fault by the Council.
14. Mr and Mrs D also state that Officers were rude and unprofessional at a site visit in September. I have no contemporaneous evidence of what took place and therefore it is not possible to say with any certainty what was said. As such I cannot uphold the complaint.

Did the fault cause an injustice

15. The Council’s failure to notify Mr and Mrs D about its decision meant they were left with some uncertainty. The Council has apologised and taken steps, including staff training, to prevent this error reoccurring.
16. I am unable to say whether the Council correctly considered the case in September 2019. This means Mr and Mrs D are left uncertain whether the Council’s decision was correct.

Back to top

Agreed actions

17. The Council has agreed to the following actions to remedy the injustice to Mr and Mrs D:
• Opening a new investigation into whether there are rats at the site. Officers should make a record of their findings; what evidence is considered and refer to these in any written decision to Mr and Mrs D. The Council should start the new investigation within four weeks of this investigation ending;
• If the steps above are not already part of the Council’s procedures, then it should consider explicitly including them to prevent this issue happening again. The Council should confirm to the Ombudsman what improvements will be made to written Officer guidance within four weeks of this case closing.

Back to top

Final decision

18. I have upheld the complaint and completed the investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman