Swale Borough Council (21 006 993)
Category : Environment and regulation > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 08 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of reports of dogs barking.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council failed to take action after he reported noise from barking dogs. He says the owner drives to a park next to his house and the dogs bark very loudly when passing his house disrupting his peace and enjoyment of his home.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X confirmed in a telephone call that the barking lasts around 15 or 20 seconds and usually happens once or twice a day. Whilst I understand that is frustrating for Mr X, I do not consider it a significant enough injustice to warrant the Ombudsman devoting time and public money to investigating whether the Council was at fault for not doing more.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient injustice to him.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman