The Ombudsman’s final decision

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall refer to as Mr Y, says the Council failed to respond to his complaint that he was assaulted by a Council employee.

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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 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 considered the information provided by Mr Y, copies of his complaints to the Council and the Council’s responses.

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What I found

4. In May, Mr Y complained to the Council. He said he was assaulted and verbally abused by a refuse collector. The Council says an officer emailed Mr Y at the end of May, but it is possible he did not receive this.
5. In June Mr Y made a formal complaint to the Council about the alleged assault and its failure to respond to him.
6. In July, the Council responded to Mr Y under stage one of its complaints’ procedure. It said a senior officer had spoken to the refuse collector who Mr Y alleged assaulted and verbally abused him. It says the man denied being aggressive or rude to Mr Y. And he suggested that Mr Y was aggressive when he approached him.
7. The Council says the refuse collector was reminded of his responsibilities when engaging with members of the public and the requirement to be polite and maintain social distancing.
8. Mr Y was not satisfied with this response. The Council escalated his complaint. The Director of Operations wrote to him. Having reviewed the information available, she confirmed she was satisfied with the way the complaint had been investigated.

Assessment

9. I understand Mr Y is not satisfied with the Council’s response to his complaint.
10. The Council has confirmed the refuse trucks are not fitted with cameras. It also says Mr Y did not refer to any witnesses or suggest CCTV footage may be available from other sources.
11. Mr Y has not provided any evidence to support his allegation of assault. The refuse worker says he did not assault Mr Y.
12. Without evidence to corroborate Mr Y’s allegations, it is unlikely we can add to the Council’s own investigation of the conduct of the officer involved. In addition, the Ombudsman cannot involve himself in internal disciplinary matters at councils and so could have no input on what sanctions were imposed on the officers had misconduct been established.
13. The Council’s complaints procedure says it will try and resolve complaints informally. If it is not able to resolve the matter it will consider a formal complaint under its complaints process. At stage one of the process it aims to send a response within 20 working days.
14. At the end of June, Mr Y made a formal complaint. The Council’s stage one response is dated less than 20 working days from the date of Mr Y’s letter.
15. In September, Mr Y contacted the Council again stating he had not received a response to his complaint. The Council responded to his letter, again within 20 working days.
16. I have not seen any evidence to show the Council failed to respond to Mr Y according to its complaint’s procedure. Mr Y may not have received the Council’s email in May and letter in July, but the Council has provided copies. On balance, it is unlikely the Council did not send the responses. Mr Y may not have received them, but I cannot say without doubt this is the Council’s fault.

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Final decision

17. I will not investigate this complaint. Mr Y has not provided any evidence to support his complaint that a refuse collector assaulted him. The refuse collector refutes the allegation and suggests it was Mr Y who was aggressive. Without any evidence to support either claim I cannot make a robust decision. Therefore, any further investigation is unlikely to add to that already carried out by the Council.
18. I have seen no evidence the Council failed to deal with Mr Y’s complaint according to its complaint procedure.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman