Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint the Council has delayed carrying out repairs to a safety barrier. The claimed fault does not cause Mr B a significant enough personal injustice to warrant further investigation of the complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr B, complains the Council delayed carrying out repairs to a road safety barrier. When the Council did carry out repairs, Mr B complained these were incomplete and the Council agreed to carry out further work. But this work is still outstanding.

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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 the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered the information provided by Mr B and the complaint correspondence between Mr B and the Council. I sent a draft decision to Mr B and invited comments before I made my final decision.

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What I found

4. Mr B initially complained the Council had not repaired railings that acted as safety barriers for an underpass. Mr B said this was an issue that affected the nearby residents.
5. The Council’s contractors carried out some works to repair the railings. The Council has explained this work was delayed because there was some dispute over who owned the land where the railings are sited.
6. After the work was completed, Mr B contacted the Council again to say the works were incomplete. This was because there was a section of the safety railing where a railing post was missing. The Council inspected the site and agreed to carry out additional repairs. The work has not yet been completed.
7. While Mr B remains dissatisfied with the way the Council has dealt with this matter, the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The Council has said it will keep Mr B’s complaint open while it liaises with its contractors to carry out the outstanding work. Even if this work is not completed, the injustice from the condition of the railings does not cause Mr B a significant enough personal injustice to warrant further investigation of the complaint by the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the claimed fault does not cause Mr B a significant enough personal injustice to warrant further investigation.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman