Summary: We cannot investigate Ms 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. Ms X complains the Council has continually missed her household waste collections and has stopped its recycling collections, increasing the amount of waste she has had to store at her property.

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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 Ms X.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. 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 struggled to clear. Residents from across the city have reported rubbish building up locally with bins overflowing, rubbish on the streets, unpleasant odours and vermin.
7. While I appreciate Ms X is unhappy the Council has not emptied her bins on occasion and has stopped its recycling collections, 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

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