Adur District Council (22 000 943)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 09 May 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed bin collections during industrial strike action. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. We cannot investigate complaints which affect all or most people in the Council’s area, and we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says the Council should issue a council tax refund following missed bin collections during industrial strike action.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
- And we cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and our Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The industrial strike action meant there were no waste collections across the whole of the Council’s area between mid-March and mid-April 2022. The restriction detailed in paragraph 3 above therefore applies to the complaint, as it is a matter which affected all or most people in the Council’s area.
- Furthermore, in law there is no link between the charge for/payment of council tax and the provision of services by the Council, so we would not recommend a refund of council tax for the missed collections.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is about a matter which affects all or most people in the Council’s area, and we cannot achieve the outcome he is seeking.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman