Wokingham Borough Council (25 014 006)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 05 Feb 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council responded to his enquiries about a local development. This is because any injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the information the Council has provided regarding his concerns about local development.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complained to the Council on two occasions in 2025 and the Council answered his complaints at Stage 1 and Stage 2 of its complaint process. Mr X says the Council should have provided him with more details.
- 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 serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter. I consider any injustice is not significant enough to justify an investigation by the Ombudsman.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to warrant our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman