Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s failure to repair the footway at a point where she and other pedestrians have tripped in the past. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Ms X, complains about the Council failing to repair a part of the footway where several people, including her, have fallen in the past.

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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
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered all the information which Ms X submitted with her complaint and she has been given the opportunity to comment on the draft decision.

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What I found

4. Ms X says she fell on an area of the pavement where it meets the access to a supermarket in her area. She reported the issue to the Council and it inspected but refused to carry out repairs. The Council says its inspector decided that any small defects did not meet its criteria for intervention, but it would continue to monitor the site.
5. Councils as highways authorities have a duty to maintain the public highway for drivers and pedestrians. They have a maintenance standard and an order of priority for works to be carried out. In this case the Council did not consider this site to warrant repairs when its inspector assessed it.
6. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. If the Council had failed to inspect this would be fault but it is not our role to question the merits of the Council inspector’s decision.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman