Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s sweeping of Ms X’s road. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Ms X sufficient to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has failed to sweep her street to keep it clear of leaves and other debris. She says this has led to slippery leaves on pavements, blocked gutters and an untidy street.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X complained to the Council about its lack of road sweeping and leaf clearance in her street. The Council explained that due to budgetary constraints it had changed what had been a weekly clean to a monthly clean. It acknowledged it would have been good customer service to have informed residents about the change and apologised for any uncertainty and frustration caused. It also confirmed that throughout the year the cleansing schedule would be looked at for her area due to the high number of trees in the road and prioritise additional cleans where necessary. Ms X disputed that the street was being swept monthly.
6. In response to my enquiries the Council has confirmed the street is on a monthly schedule for cleaning and that checks have been completed regularly to see if additional cleans have been required, particularly in Autumn due to leaf fall. At the time of responding it said the last clean had been carried out on 4 December with an additional visit to the area on 12 December.
7. While Ms X may not be satisfied with the level of street cleansing carried out, it is for the Council to decide its frequency and it has been carrying out regular visits to see if additional cleans are required.
8. We do not investigate every complaint we receive and here there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Ms X to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Ms X sufficient to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman