Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council responded to Mr X’s complaints of safety concerns at his property. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council did not respond to his safety concerns resulting from a driveway the Council installed at a neighbouring property. He said his complaint was handled inconsistently, and his concerns were not addressed. He said this has caused him significant distress and uncertainty. Mr X would like the Council to acknowledge the distress caused from mishandling his complaint.

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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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X complained the Council did not respond to his safety concerns for his front garden after the Council installed a driveway at a neighbouring property. The Council is the social landlord of the neighbouring property.
6. In its complaint response, the Council told Mr X it had considered the safety requirements for the construction of the driveway on his neighbour’s property.
7. The Council told Mr X it was not its responsibility to ensure the front garden of his property was enclosed. The Council said it was up to Mr X if he wanted to install a fence to enclose his front garden at his private property. The Council also offered to delay installing the driveway at the neighbouring property, to allow time for Mr X to make arrangements to enclose his front garden.
8. We will not investigate this complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. The Council confirmed it was not responsible for ensuring the front garden at Mr X’s private property was enclosed.
9. The Council apologised to Mr X for using an incorrect complaint procedure when it initially considered his complaint.
10. I acknowledge the Council changed the complaint procedure it used to consider Mr X’s complaint and this may have caused him frustration. However, it is still not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we decide not to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman