Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about damage to her property caused by a Council-owned tree. It is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome and if Ms X is dissatisfied with the outcome of her insurance claim, it is reasonable for her to take the matter to court.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has failed to act following her reports of damage to her property caused by a tree on Council-owned land. She says the Council has delayed responding, communicated poorly and the matter has caused her distress. She wants the Council to pay for repairs and remove the tree.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. In response to my enquiries, the Council told us it had recently completed a site visit to assess the tree. This is an appropriate action, and it is for the Council to now decide if any work is required. We could not require the Council to remove the tree. We will not investigate this further as it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome or achieve anything more.
7. We will also not investigate Ms X’s complaint about damage to her property. We cannot decide whether a Council is liable for any damage and whether it should pay compensation. This is better considered by the Council’s insurers and if necessary, the courts. Ms X has submitted a claim to the Council’s insurers who are currently considering her claim. If Ms X is dissatisfied with the outcome, it is reasonable for her to take the matter to court.
8. Ms X also complains about delays responding to her concerns. Although I acknowledge that any delay is likely to have caused Ms X distress, we will not investigate this. It is not a good use of our resources to consider a council’s complaints handling, whether we decide not to investigate the substantive issue.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome and if Ms X is dissatisfied with the outcome of her insurance claim, it is reasonable for her to take the matter to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman