Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to make reasonable adjustments in relation to a charge for the garden waste service. This is because there is not enough fault in how the Council made its decision to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to make reasonable adjustments in relation to the garden waste collection service.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. 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
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

4. We cannot decide if an organisation has breached the Equality Act as this can only be done by the courts. But we can make decisions about whether or not an organisation has properly taken account of an individual’s rights in its treatment of them. Organisations will often be able to show they have properly taken account of the Equality Act if they have considered the impact their decisions will have on the individuals affected.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X. This includes the complaint correspondence and the Equality Impact Assessment. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council decided to charge for its garden waste collection service when previously the service was free.
7. Councils are not required to collect garden waste and can charge for the service. People can subscribe to this Council’s service and pay an annual charge of £56. Alternative options include taking the waste to the recycling centre or composting.
8. Mr X has a disability and is not allowed to drive for health reasons. He asked the Council to provide him with a free garden waste service as a reasonable adjustment because he cannot drive to the recycling centre. He says the service, without this adjustment, is discriminatory because he cannot take garden waste to the recycling centre.
9. The Council said it would not give Mr X a free service and denied there was direct or indirect discrimination. It said Mr X was in the same position as everyone else and he could have his waste collected if he paid for the subscription. In making this decision, the evidence demonstrates the Council considered Mr X’s individual circumstances in line with its policy on charging for garden waste collections. In doing so it had regard to its duties under Equalities Act through its Equality Impact Assessment. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision to justify an investigation.
10. Mr X says the chargeable service is discriminatory. We do not have the power to consider this. Only the courts can decide whether the Council had breached its duties under the Equality Act.
11. Mr X complained of poor complaint handling and delayed responses. The Council apologised for the inconvenience caused by the delays. I appreciate Mr X may have felt frustrated by the delays, but 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.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint because there is not enough fault in how the Council made its decision to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman