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

The complaint

1. Mrs Y complained the Council planned roadworks poorly, causing a delay in the works being completed. She is also unhappy with the Council’s response to her complaint, in which it has not provided her with evidence of its view that the delay has been caused by a third party.
2. Mrs Y says this has caused delays on the road network near where she lives, causing inconvenience to people in her area.

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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 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 Mrs Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. We must consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. Mrs Y has told us that her injustice is the frustrating delays on the road network near where she lives which has caused inconvenience to those in her area.
7. 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.
8. While Mrs Y clearly feels strongly about the ongoing roadworks, she has not suffered a serious loss, harm or distress because of the problem she has complained about. While it may be annoying to Mrs Y, this injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement and we will not investigate.
9. As we are not investigating the substantive issue, it is not a good use of public resources to investigate how the Council dealt with Mrs Y’s complaint or how it responded to it. We will not investigate.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs Y’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement and 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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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman