Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about highways maintenance and management because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained the Council had provided incorrect details on a public notice about footpath repairs in his area. He is also unhappy with the Council’s response which he says is incorrect.
2. Mr Y says he has had to spend time and effort to bring his complaint initially to the Council and then to us.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

4. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered a serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss of injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
7. While Mr Y may find the issue frustrating, this would not be a serious loss, harm or distress. Consequently, we would not consider him to have suffered a significant person injustice as a result of any actions by the Council. We will therefore not investigate this complaint as any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
8. As we are not investigating the substantive issue, it is not a good use of public resources to investigate how the Council dealt with Mr Y’s complaint. We will not investigate.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman