Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about missed refuse collections. This is because the issue stems from industrial strike action by the Council’s refuse collection crews and is a matter which affects all or most of the people in the Council’s area

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has repeatedly failed to collect her recycling and household waste. She says the uncollected waste has attracted rats and foxes, causing a serious health and safety risk. She says that as a result she has had to pay a private company to collect her rubbish.

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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 Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council’s refuse collection crews began industrial strike action in a dispute over changes to roles and pay in early 2025. This resulted in missed collections for a large proportion of the council’s residents and a backlog of reports which the Council has so far been unable to clear. Residents from across the city have reported rubbish building up locally with bins overflowing, rubbish on the streets, unpleasant odours and vermin.
6. While I appreciate Mrs X is unhappy that her bins have not been emptied and that she has not received a service she funds through her council tax payments, she is affected by these issues in the same way as ‘all or most’ of the residents in the Council’s area. The exclusion set out at Paragraph 3 therefore applies.

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Final decision

7. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because it is about an issue which affects all or most of the people in the Council’s area.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman