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. Mr X complains the Council has failed to provide a reliable household waste collection service in his street since the end of January 2025. He says waste is piling up, attracting vermin, emitting foul smells and risking public health. He is also happy the Council has refused to deal with complaints about the matter.

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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 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 Mr X is unhappy that his bins have not been emptied and that he has not received a reliable service but he is affected by the 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.
7. Because we cannot investigate the strike action or missed collections we could not achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X by investigating his concerns about the Council’s refusal to deal with his complaint. The strikes affect residents across the city and any response to Mr X would not have changed or improved the situation for Mr X.

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Final decision

8. 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