Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to introduce a policy restricting the number of traders selling certain goods at a market. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council has allowed other traders selling the same goods as him to operate from a market which he has attended for more than five years. He says this is unfair and has caused him financial loss.

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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 it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I reviewed Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s responses. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and considered his comments.

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What I found

4. Mr X is a trader at a market run by the Council. He complains the Council has allowed other traders selling the same goods as him to operate from the market. He says other markets operate a ‘one trader’ policy and he believes the Council should implement something similar. The Council has refused to do so, but Mr X says it has stopped other traders from joining the market where their products are the same as those already sold and he believes it should do this for all products.
5. It is not for us to dictate council policy where it is not clearly in breach of existing legislation or guidance. It is a matter of judgement for the Council to decide whether to limit traders in the way Mr X would like and it has decided not to. It does have discretion to decline applications by traders who sell items which are already available at the market but it has explained its reasons for not exercising its discretion in this case. Although Mr X disagrees with the Council on this point I have seen no evidence of fault in the way it reached its decision.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman