Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the operating hours of a mechanical street sweeper. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council or personal injustice to Mr X.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about a mechanical street sweeper operating at 7am. Mr X says it caused a disturbance and is a waste of public funds. The street sweeper then returned at 10.30am.

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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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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What I found

4. In its response to Mr X’s complaint, the Council said it had received a request to sweep the street due to waste that could be washed into rain gullies. This was a request in addition to one that was already scheduled. The Council said it tries to avoid work at 7am, but as this was an extra request, it was accommodated by an early start. The work could not be completed during the initial visit, so the sweeper returned later that day.
5. The Ombudsman does not have the resources to investigate all the complaints we receive. We need to consider the likelihood of finding fault and the injustice to the person complaining. We only investigate the complaints we consider the most serious.
6. The Council has explained why the street was swept at 7am and I have not seen enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman. Also, while I understand Mr X was disturbed by the street sweeper attending at 7am, the injustice is not enough to warrant the cost of an investigation by the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council or personal injustice to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman