Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s waste collection lorry parking outside his driveway access when waste is collected from a nearby care home. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of any significant injustice which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the Council’s refuse collection lorry obstructing his driveway when the crew collects waste from a nearby care home. He says sometimes he has to wait to access his driveway on collection day. He wants the Council to take the vehicle onto the care home premises

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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, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint and he has commented on the draft decision.

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What I found

4. Mr X lives on a cul de sac which includes the entrance to a care home. The Council’s waste collection lorry reverses down the street and blocks his driveway when the crew collect waste from the care home. Mr X says on some occasions he has had to wait for the vehicle to move to exit his driveway.
5. Mr X complained to the Council and asked for the vehicle to enter the care home grounds to collect the waste. The Council told him that this was not practical because the vehicle would damage the cobbled surface. It says the time taken to collect the waste is kept to a minimum.
6. The Local Government Ombudsman is obliged by law to consider not only any fault which a complainant has alleged, but also the injustice caused to them as a direct consequence of that failure. In this case the Council has allowed the vehicle to park on the road whilst bins are wheeled to it for practical reasons. The collection time is only brief on a single weekday and there is insufficient inconvenience to Mr X or other residents which would suggest this is fault.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of any significant injustice which would warrant an investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman