Milton Keynes Council (24 006 355)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway adoption
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 Sep 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council not taking responsibility for the maintenance of an access road leading to the school for which she works. Mrs X has brought the complaint on behalf of the school, which is a public body created for purposes of public service. We cannot investigate because the law prevents us from investigating complaints made by public bodies.
The complaint
- Mrs X works for a local authority-funded school in the Council’s area. She makes her complaint from within her role at the school. Mrs X complains the Council has wrongly decided the school is responsible for the maintenance of an access road.
- Mrs X says the road is in desperate need of maintenance. She says cars parked on the road mean drivers to the school cannot avoid the damaged surface. Mrs X says there are also difficulties for larger vehicles accessing the school, including emergency vehicles such as fire engines. She wants the Council to take account of documents showing the school’s boundary does not include the road, and for the Council to agree to fix and maintain the road.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate complaints from public bodies. (Local Government Act 1974, section 27(1)(a), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information from Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We investigate complaints from members of the public. Mrs X’s complaint to us follows on from one to the Council she made on behalf of the school for which she works. Mrs X is not complaining as a member of the public but in her role at the school. By law, we cannot investigate a complaint from a school funded by the local authority. The school is a public body constituted for the purposes of public service and local government. Section 27(1)(a) as amended of the 1974 Local Government Act means we have no jurisdiction to investigate Mrs X’s complaint, so cannot do so.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating complaints made by public bodies.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman