London Borough of Southwark (22 009 266)
Category : Environment and regulation > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 24 Oct 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to Mr X’s concerns of overgrown ivy affecting his property. This is because Mr X has a legal remedy against the Council for the damage he claims.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, says, despite an earlier agreement to do so, the Council has not properly managed ivy growth from its land spreading to his. He says the Council is now denying responsibility and he seeks compensation for damage caused to his property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X, including the Council’s response to his complaint.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The restriction highlighted at paragraph 3 applies to Mr X’s complaint. If he believes the Council is liable for the damage caused to his property, he can make an insurance claim against the Council. If this is declined, he can take legal action through the courts. As Mr X has this alternative remedy available to him which we would reasonably expect him to use, the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction and will not be investigated.
- Mr X has also complained about Council complaint handling, but we will not investigate such matters when we are not investigating the substantive issue.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has a legal remedy against the Council for the damage he claims.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman