Havant Borough Council (22 004 628)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 31 Jul 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed garden waste collections. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. The injustice to the complainant is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complained about missed garden waste collections. Mr X said the Council missed forty percent of the collections over the last year. The Council charges £64 per year for the service.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In its response to Mr X the Council said the nationwide shortage of HGV drivers had impacted its refuse collection service. It had therefore decided to prioritise collecting household waste and recycling over garden waste. The Council said collections were generally delayed rather than missed and so compensation was not considered appropriate.
- We will not start an investigation into Mr X’s complaint. Missed waste collections are of course annoying and frustrating. But the shortage of HGV drivers is outside the Council’s control. Also, while I understand the missed collections will have inconvenienced Mr X, the injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation. The cost of the missed collections to Mr X equates to around £25. That is not enough to justify the cost of an investigation by the Ombudsman.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman