Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to introduce fortnightly refuse collections. This is because the law says we cannot investigate a matter that affects all or most of the residents of a council area.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, disagrees with the Council’s decision to introduce fortnightly refuse collections. He says it is damaging to the environment and has led to an increase in vermin and fly-tipping. Mr X says there was no consultation and the Council has not reduced his council tax. Mr X wants the Council to change back to weekly collections.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X. This includes the complaint response and information on the Council’s website. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council carried out a consultation in 2023 and decided to move to fortnightly refuse collections from April 2024. Some streets, including Mr X’s road, switched to fortnightly collections in February. Mr X complained to the Council about the loss of weekly collections.
6. In response the Council explained why it had decided to move to fortnightly collections. The reasons include targets to reduce landfill and the need to encourage recycling. It explained that many London boroughs already have fortnightly collections. The Council said the consultation had highlighted some concerns and it explained the steps it will take to address those issues. The Council also said that any savings will be diverted to other service areas to support their budgets. The Council said it would arrange a check to see if Mr X has the correct size of bins.
7. The law says we cannot investigate any issue that affects all or most of the residents of a council area. Although for the first two months only a small number of people have been affected, from April all residents will move to a fortnightly collection. Mr X wants the Council to revert to weekly collections but such a decision would affect the whole borough and not just Mr X. As the move to fortnightly collections affects the whole borough we cannot start an investigation.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate this complaint because it affects all or most of the residents of the Council area.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman