Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s failure to ensure its contractors return empty refuse bins to properties rather than leaving them on the pavement. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice to Mr X which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the Council failing to ensure that its contractors return wheeled refuse bins to properties instead of leaving them on the pavement where they may be a hazard to pedestrians. He says he reported incidents in 2017 and 2018 and recently further incidents have occurred.

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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 fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(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. I have also considered the Council’s response. Mr X has commented on the draft decision.

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What I found

4. Mr X says in 2017 and 2018 he reported to the Council that its contractors had left bins on the pavement rather than returning them to the boundaries of properties. He says this presents a hazard to pedestrians, particularly the disabled or visually impaired. The Council said it would investigate the situation and that some properties may have to have a refuse bag service where they had steps making bin storage difficult for waste operatives to collect.
5. In 2019 Mr X made a further complaint when bins were again left on the pavement. The Council says that it has contacted the contractor’s managers who have monitored the collection at Mr X’s home. They say the refuse crews have so far followed instructions to return the bins to the property.
6. Most councils do not return bins placed on the footway for collection to adjacent properties, that is normally the residents’ responsibility. In this case the Council has given instructions to the contractors to return the bins and it has made its best efforts to maintain this arrangement.
7. 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 I do not consider that the incidents of leaving bins on the footway are insufficient injustice to Mr X to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice to Mr X 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