Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about early refuse collections. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council has considered the complainant's concerns.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has been collecting refuse from his block of flats earlier and earlier, including at 6.20am. He says this is contrary to the Council’s approach to ‘noisy working hours’, and causes him and his mother immense stress and sleep disruption.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can 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. So, we do not start an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, 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

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council, which included their complaint correspondence.
4. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. I appreciate Mr X is very unhappy about the Council conducting early refuse collections.
6. But the Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at operational decisions to decide if they are wrong, or tell the Council how to run its services. It is for the Council to make the difficult decisions about how to utilise limited resources to provide services.
7. Our role is to look at whether there is evidence of fault in how the Council made its decisions. If we decide there is insufficient evidence of fault in how it did so, we cannot ask whether it should have made a particular decision or say it should have reached a different outcome.
8. I consider there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council has considered this matter, so we will not start an investigation. In reaching this view, I am mindful that:
• there is no legislation or government guidance which sets out the times of day when local authorities must collect refuse. It is for each local authority to decide when to start collections.
• the Council has explained that with increasing numbers of properties within its area, it must optimise the collection routes to be as efficient as possible (taking into account vehicle breakdowns, temporary crew changes, weather conditions); this makes it difficult to adjust the service to suit individual requirements.
• whilst the Council has attempted to make later collections in response to Mr X complaints/concerns, it has explained why it cannot promise this will continue.
• the Council has explained why the Control of Pollution Act/’noisy work hours’ is not considered to apply to a statutory service like refuse collections; rather, it covers things like construction and demolition.
• the Council has asked the refuse crews to keep noise levels as low as possible during refuse collections.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman