Summary: Miss B complaints about the Council’s lack of response to her reports of fly tipping on her street. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault in how the Council reached its decision.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains that the Council is not responding to her many reports of fly tipping on her street. She also complains that excessive littering on her street has attracted vermin causing damage to her property.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered the information provided by Miss B including comments on my draft decision.
4. I have considered the Council response to Miss B’s complaint.

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What I found

5. Miss B lives on a street that operates “black bin bag” collection area, which means that residents leave their bags on the kerb for the Council to collect.
6. Miss B has been complaining about waste left on her street to the Council, and she feels that it is not always residents that leave the bags there.
7. Miss B feels frustrated because she feels the Council is not taking any action to solve the issue. She would also like the Council to properly explain the complaint procedure to her, and to give priority to streets like hers to minimise the littering.
8. The Council has provided a response recognising Miss B’s frustration; it has explained that it is difficult to prosecute members of the public without sufficient evidence for court proceedings.
9. It also explained that it would not consider bags left on the kerb in a “black bin bag” collection area as environmental crime, as that is the collection method on some streets.
10. The Council told Miss B that it is aware of the problem. It said that it is carrying out an improvement programme to tackle underlying issues with waste, litter and vermin across the city by refurbishing four foot alleyways and introducing temporary communal bins for alternative and better methods of waste collection, while a permanent solution is developed with local residents. The Council confirmed there has been delay in carrying out the programme on Miss B’s street due to the lockdown that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic.
11. Based on the information provided I see no fault in Councils approach. I understand that Miss B is experiencing issues on her street, but the Council has responded to her complaint and provided its long term solution to the problem. This is what can be reasonably expected from the Council. It has also explained that Miss B’s street was to benefit from the programme in September 2020, but the pandemic delayed the next phase of the programme to October 2020.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault in how the Council reached its decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman