Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s consideration of a referral made to it by Mr X, relating to a tradesperson. There is not enough evidence of fault and there is otherwise no worthwhile outcome we can achieve.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s response to a report he made, about a tradesperson, specifically that:
• It did not initially respond to his report and then took no formal action.
• It was at fault for giving incorrect advice to the tradesperson.
2. Mr X said the Council’s actions have left him at a disadvantage in a civil claim against the tradesperson.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. 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, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, 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

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X made a report to the Council about his concerns relating to a tradesperson. This person carried out work for Mr X and Mr X subsequently lodged a civil claim about a dispute over payment, and for damages, with the courts.
8. The Council initially decided to take no action and Mr X subsequently complained about this decision, saying the Council should be prosecuting what he said were unqualified tradespersons.
9. During the complaints process, the Council spoke to the tradesperson and gave Mr X an update after this. Mr X then complained about the Council’s decisions not to carry out more detailed investigations into the tradesperson’s qualifications. Mr X also said the Council’s actions and advice to the tradesperson here, meant he was now at a disadvantage in his civil claim.
10. We will not investigate the Council’s decision not to respond to Mr X’s initial report. The Council has a policy which says a case will be reviewed and considered in line with the scale of the complaint and the impact on the complainant. The case notes of the referral show it was considered and the Council made a referral to another Authority.
11. Nor will we investigate the Council’s subsequent decision not to take formal action after Mr X followed this up with the Council. The evidence shows the Council reconsidered its decision in light of the new information, carried out additional checks and decided it did not need to take action.
12. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s decision not to act in these instances. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
13. I have considered the steps the Council took to consider the issue, and the information it took account of when deciding not to act. There is no evidence of fault in how it took the decision, and I therefore cannot question whether that decision was right or wrong.
14. Finally, Mr X said the Council were wrong to give what he said was flawed advice to the tradesperson when they met with them and that has now disadvantaged his civil claim. We will not investigate here, Mr X’s civil claim is a private matter, and it is not the role of the Council to provide evidence to support Mr X’s claim. Therefore, we cannot achieve any meaningful outcome for Mr X here.
15. Additionally, the Council has provided a thorough response to Mr X’s concerns about a Council officer’s conduct and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault and there is no worthwhile outcome we can achieve.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman