Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (25 024 676)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 17 Jun 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about changes to the Council’s waste collection policy and service because the issue affects all or most of the people in the Council’s area, and the law says we cannot investigate. We will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling because the tests in our Assessment Code are not met.
The complaint
- Mr X complained about the Council’s decision to change its waste collection policy to provide a less frequent service. Mr X also complained about the Council’s decision not to consider his concerns about the policy change through its complaints service. Mr X said the matter caused him frustration.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Waste collection policy change
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to change the frequency of its waste collection service. This is because the decision affects all or most of the people in the Council’s area, and the law says we cannot investigate.
Complaint handling
- It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures if we decide not to investigate the substantive issue. Consequently, we will not investigate this complaint because the tests in our Assessment Code are not met.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate most of Mr X’s complaint because the issue complained about affects all or most of the people in the Council’s area. We will not investigate the remainder because the tests in our Assessment Code are not met.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman