Summary: We will not investigate Miss Q’s complaint about a leaflet the Council distributed to residents. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault with the Council. Nor has the alleged fault caused injustice to Miss Q.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I have called Miss Q, complained about a leaflet the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames distributed to residents. She said the Council distributed the leaflet a week before a lockdown ended, and it only contained web addresses. She said this made the leaflet useless, particularly for anyone who did not have internet access.

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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, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information Miss Q provided. I invited Miss Q to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

What happened

4. The Council distributed a leaflet to residents. The leaflet gave details of the advice and services available during the Covid-19 pandemic.
5. Miss Q complained to the Council. She said the Council distributed the leaflet a week before a lockdown ended and it only contained web addresses. Miss Q said this made the leaflet useless, particularly for anyone who did not have access to the internet.
6. The Council told Miss Q the information in the leaflet extended beyond the end of tighter lockdowns. It also said an accompanying leaflet included telephone numbers.
7. Miss Q has access to the internet.

Assessment

8. We will not investigate this complaint.
9. It is unlikely we would find fault with the Council if it provided residents with telephone numbers as well as web addresses regarding available advice and services. Nor are we likely to find fault with it if the advice and services were available beyond the end of the tighter lockdown.
10. In any event, as Miss Q has access to the internet, the alleged fault has not caused her an injustice.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find fault, nor has the alleged fault caused injustice to Miss Q.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman