Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about a missed recycling collection because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains about a missed recycling collection in July.

Back to top

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 an investigation if we believe the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s response. I considered email exchanges between Mrs X and the Council. I invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision.

Back to top

What I found

25 July 2019

4. The UK temperature record was broken on 25 July 2019. A temperature of more than 38 degrees centigrade was recorded in England.

What happened

5. The Council collects recycling every two weeks.
6. In July it decided to suspend the recycling service. This was to protect the health of staff in the hot weather and allow staff to concentrate on waste collections. As a result of this decision the Council did not collect Mrs X’s recycling on 25 July. It collected the recycling two weeks later.
7. Mrs X says it is intolerable that her recycling was not collected for four weeks. She says other people had to work in the heat. Mrs X complained about the missed collection. In response the Council apologised for the inconvenience but said it had decided to provide a reduced service to protect the well-being of staff.

Assessment

8. Missed collections are annoying and inconvenient. However, the Council explained the reason for the missed collection and apologised. The impact of one missed collection is not serious enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.

Back to top

Final decision

9. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman