Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to maintain a tree in the highway. He says he should receive a discount for his garden waste collection because of the leaves he collects. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the Council’s refusal to offer him a discount for collecting leaves in his garden waste bin from a tree in the public highway. He says he should not have to pay to collect the Council’s leaves.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint and he has been given the opportunity to comment on the draft decision.

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What I found

4. Mr X lives on a street which has trees planted in the highway verge. He says when the leaves fall, they land on his property and he has to fill his garden waste bin with leaves which are not his own garden waste. He complained to the Council and asked for a discount on the payment he makes for the bin collection.
5. The Council says the trees are the responsibility of the highway authority which is the County Council in this area. The Council says it will pass on Mr X’s comments about the tree to the highway authority.
6. The Council says it cannot offer Mr X a discount on his garden waste collection payment. The service is for collecting leaves from private homes and Mr X is not required to collect any leaves from the highway. Any leaves which fall on private property become the owner’s responsibility and it is their choice to decide how they dispose of them.
7. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. In this case the Council is not responsible for the highway trees and it provides a service for garden waste collection which Mr X is making full use of.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman