Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to damage caused to a highway tree. This is because we have decided any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains that the Council has declined to confirm whether it has considered and decided whether to take action against a third party for damaging a highway tree.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. People may complain to us about injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’ by a public organisation we could investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1) or section 34C(1)(a)).
3. 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 (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), or section 34B(8)).
4. We will not normally investigate complaint handling if we are not investigating the rest of the complaint. This is because there is not usually enough injustice to justify us doing so. We collect information about particularly poor complaint handling practice and report this back to organisations. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), or section 34B(8)).

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The correspondence Mr X has provided shows that he and other residents reported damage to a highway tree. The Council has referred the matter to the police for consideration of whether it amounts to criminal damage. Mr X says the Council should also pursue civil remedies in its capacity as owner of the tree. He complains that it has not confirmed that it has considered whether to do so, or set out its decision. He further complains that the Council’s responses have failed to address the substantive matter. He says this has caused him ongoing concern.
8. The law means we can choose only to investigate a complaint where the person has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by the body complained about. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
9. I recognise the circumstances of Mr X’s complaint have caused him concern, but this is not significant enough to warrant us investigating.
10. We will not investigate the way the Council handled the complaint and correspondence here because we are satisfied it did not cause enough separate injustice to warrant it.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman