Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council not providing a timescale for pruning work to a tree near her house, not sticking to its original timescale, and losing her initial complaint. There is insufficient significant personal injustice from the matters complained of to justify us investigating. We also cannot achieve the main outcome Miss X seeks. We do not investigate councils’ complaint-handling where we are not investigating the core issues giving rise to the complaint.

The complaint

1. Miss X lives in a property with a large Council-owned tree next to it. She complains the Council:
1. gave a timescale for the tree pruning work which it did not meet and failed to provide her with a new timescale;
2. lost her original complaint.
2. Miss X says she feels ignored, lied to and as if the Council gave her a timescale to stop her contacting officers. She says she has spent time and been caused trouble pursuing the matter. She wants the Council to provide her with a clearer timescale on when it will prune the tree then meet it, and an apology.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement; or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information from Miss X, relevant online maps and images, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In response to Miss X’s complaint in 2023, the Council said it employed a tree officer to do its regular round of tree inspections to try to catch up on its delayed schedule. The officer had inspected the tree near Miss X’s property in spring 2023 and determined it required pruning. The Council reply indicated its tree work in Miss X’s ward would start in about five or six weeks, after work in another ward was done. In its second reply to her complaint, the Council said it could not give a timescale or date for the tree near her property to be pruned because there are many variables outside its control which could delay it. Miss X contacted the Council again in September 2023, asking when the pruning would happen. She says the Council had lost her original complaint.
6. Miss X initially received an indication from the Council of when the tree work could happen, which was not met, and has not been given another date. We note the injustices Miss X says has been caused to her by the matters complained of are time and trouble, and that she feels ignored, lied to and fobbed off by officers. We realise Miss X has been caused some annoyance, frustration and inconvenience here. But there is insufficient significant personal injustice to her from these matters to warrant us investigating.
7. The Council has agreed the tree near Miss X’s property requires pruning and it is on its work schedule. We recognise the practical outcome Miss X wants from her complaint is for the Council to give her a time for when it will do that work. But we cannot order councils to reschedule and give additional priority to its tree works. That is for its officers to determine using their professional judgement. That we cannot achieve this key outcome is a further reason why we will not investigate.
8. Miss X complains about the Council’s complaint process. We do not investigate councils’ complaint-handling in isolation where we are not investigating the core issues which gave rise to the complaint. It is not a good use of our resources for us to do so. That limitation applies here so we will not investigate this aspect of the complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because:
• there is insufficient significant personal injustice from the matters complained of to justify us investigating; and
• we cannot achieve the key outcome Miss X seeks; and
• we do not investigate councils’ complaint-handling where we are not investigating the core issues giving rise to the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman