Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assisted waste collection service. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council, and our involvement is unlikely to add anything to the Council’s response or lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, has a disability. She is eligible for assisted waste collections but says the Council has not emptied her bins for 12 months. She says this has left her feeling stressed, and there is a buildup of waste which blocks her walkway.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council accepts it missed some collections, but explained this was mostly due to bin contamination, or access issues to where the bins were stored. It also said on the occasions it did not collect the bins by mistake, workers were sent back to empty them; but overall, the bins were collected without issue.
6. After its response to Ms X’s complaint, the Council conducted an assisted collection audit. It actively monitored collections from Ms X’s address to ensure her bins were emptied. As Ms X’s disability prevented her from leaving her bins by the kerbside, it asked Ms X to leave her garden gate unlocked so it could collect them and confirmed it would return her bins to her garden once emptied. The Council says this happened mostly without issue, and the bins were sometimes presented by the kerbside, and other times the gate was left unlocked to allow them access.
7. I am satisfied the Council has put appropriate measures in place to ensure the bins are collected and has addressed Ms X’s complaint as we would expect. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant us investigating.
8. The Council has said since Ms X’s complaint, it sometimes continues to experience access issues when the garden gate is left locked, for which it says it has recorded evidence. The Council reiterates the gate needs to be left unlocked so it can empty her bins. It is unlikely our involvement could add anything to the Council’s response, and investigation is unlikely to achieve a different outcome for Ms X.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council, and investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman