Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s consideration of Mrs X’s representations about a local library facility. There is no significant injustice and there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by us investigating.

The complaint

1. Mrs X was unhappy with how the Council engaged with her group, who were working to support a local library facility, to minimise the likelihood of it being closed as part of a Council restructure. Mrs X said the Council’s actions caused stress and frustration.

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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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(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 Mrs X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X complained the Council were not properly communicating in time, and attending meetings with her group, and she was concerned this would affect future decisions about which library facility it would close. The Council provided information on a recent public consultation affecting its decisions here and said these decisions were still to be made by the Council. It also said it had met with Mrs X after her initial complaint to the Council.
6. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. We do not start an investigation if we decide the impact of the fault a person complains about is not so significant that we should investigate.
7. We will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by an organisation. In addition, we will not normally investigate a complaint where the complainant is using their enquiry as a way of raising a wider community campaign about something of general concern but where they have not suffered injustice.
8. Mrs X wants the Council now to take on board the views, concerns and needs of the community and I take this to mean she wants the Council to retain the library facility she is concerned about or, use it in a manner in line with her group’s views. We could not direct the Council on how it must use its resources and so there is no worthwhile outcome an investigation could achieve.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is no significant injustice and there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by us investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman