Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council changing the frequency of bin collections. This issue affects all or most residents in the area and so the law says we cannot investigate. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council refusing to offer extra bin capacity as a reasonable adjustment because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council changed the frequency of its bin collections and refused to provide him with extra bin capacity, which he asked for as a reasonable adjustment. Mr X also complained the Council did not handle his complaint properly.
2. Mr X said this caused waste to gather around his home and attracted rodents.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. We 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. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
6. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. The Council changed the frequency of its bin collections to collect non-recyclable waste every three weeks. Mr X said this led to waste gathering around his home because the collections are not frequent enough.
10. As outlined in paragraph four, we cannot investigate something which affects all or most people in a council’s area. The frequency of bin collections affects all or most people in the area and so we cannot investigate this part of Mr X’s complaint.
11. Mr X complained the Council would not allow him extra bin capacity. He asked for this as a reasonable adjustment.
12. The Council said its policy allows for those with a medical need to access extra bin capacity. However, Mr X did not meet the criteria and therefore it would not provide him any.
13. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
14. The Council acted in line with its policy for providing extra bin capacity here. There is not enough fault in its decision-making to not allow Mr X extra bin capacity and therefore we will not investigate.
15. Finally, as we cannot investigate the substantive matters of the complaint, we will not investigate the Council’s handling of the complaint because it is not proportionate to do so.

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Final decision

16. We cannot investigate part of Mr X’s complaint because it affects all or most residents in the area. We will not investigate the rest of Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman