Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council has failed to provide information about the maintenance of grass verges and failed to reply to his complaints. I am satisfied the Council has now explained the maintenance position and apologised to Mr X for the failure to deal with his complaint. There is no remaining injustice. Mr X may reasonably go to the Information Commissioner or his local councillor if he wants more information.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to provide information, first requested in May 2021, about the maintenance of roadside grass verges and roundabouts. Mr X says in 2021 the level of maintenance dropped apparently due to lack of Council funds. He says the complaint reply sent following the Ombudsman’s contact with the Council has not provided a schedule of work for this year. Mr X says the Council should provide the information.
2. Mr X complains the Council has failed to reply to his complaints and has failed to keep to its complaint procedure. Mr X says the Council should apologise and improve practice.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

4. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. I have discussed the complaint with Mr X by telephone.

Back to top

My assessment

6. I will not investigate this complaint for the following reasons:
7. There is insufficient injustice to investigate the maintenance of grass verges or provision of information. The Council has explained the position with maintenance of grass verges. It has the budget to restore the maintenance to that existing before the reduction which particularly affected last year. Mr X told me he thought the grass verges had been cut three times last year. Mr X can pursue details of the schedule via his councillor nearer the time. Alternatively, it is reasonable for him to pursue a freedom of information request via the Information Commissioner (see paragraph 4 above).
8. I am satisfied the Council has apologised for the significant delay in replying to Mr X’s complaint and uphold his complaint in that respect. I will remind the Council of the need to keep to complaint procedure time requirements. The Ombudsman will rarely investigate complaint handling alone and we will not do so here.

Back to top

Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council has failed to provide information about the maintenance of grass verges and failed to reply to his complaints. I am satisfied the Council has now explained the maintenance position and apologised to Mr X for the failure to deal with his complaint. There is no remaining injustice. Mr X may reasonably go to the Information Commissioner or his local councillor if he wants more information.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman