Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s garden waste collection service, or the decision to introduce a service charge for garden waste collection. There is insufficient evidence of fault for part of the complaint, and an investigation into the the remaining matters is unlikely to achieve any further outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council:
1. failed to collect her garden waste in early 2024 and removed her collection sacks which prevented her from using the service;
2. introduced garden waste charges in April 2024 which were too high; and
3. failed to respond to her complaint adequately.
2. Ms X said the matter caused her frustration and distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, 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

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Removal of garden waste bags and failure to collect garden waste in 2024

6. We will not investigate these complaints. In its complaint response the Council explained it had one missed collection registered for Ms X’s address. It said it had returned to collect the waste later and apologised. Ms X disputes this. However, an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, and so we will not investigate this complaint.
7. Ms X also said the Council removed her garden waste sacks which meant she was unable to use the free service before charges were introduced. The Council apologised for removing the bags in error and explained it returned to provide new bags. We will not investigate this matter because the Council already apologised, and an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome.

Charging for garden waste

8. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
9. The Council considered the charges at its relevant cabinet meetings. Councillors approved the introduction of the charges. The Council can charge for garden waste collection and the Council considered relevant information as part of the decision-making process. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how it made the decision, therefore we will not investigate this matter.

Complaint handling

10. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue. Therefore, we will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about how the Council considered her complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaints because there is insufficient evidence of fault for part of the complaint and an investigation into the remainder is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman