Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to remove national flags from lamp posts in its area. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council or to show its actions caused Mr X significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to remove national flags attached without permission to lamp posts in his area. He says the flags are divisive, discriminatory and racist and it causes him great distress to travel along the affected roads.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• 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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. We do not investigate all the complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate we need to consider various tests. These include the alleged injustice to the person complaining. We only investigate the most serious complaints.
5. While I appreciate Mr X is unhappy about the flags I do not consider they, or the Council’s actions, have caused him significant injustice.
6. National flags are regularly displayed in positions where they are visible from the public highway and they are not themselves signs of discrimination or racism.
7. In any event, it is a matter for the Council as local highway authority to decide how to deal with the flags and it has been clear and consistent in its position. The Council has limited resources and must allocate its resources carefully.
8. The Council has decided the flags do not present a safety risk and it will not therefore remove them immediately. This is a decision the Council was entitled to make and I have seen no evidence of fault in the way it was reached. There is no absolute duty for councils to remove flags placed on lamp posts without permission and it is not for us to say the Council must remove them at the expense of dealing with other highway matters it considers a higher priority.
9. Mr X is also unhappy the Council has not reported the issue to the police, but again there is no requirement for it to do this. If Mr X is concerned he may report it to the police himself.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council and the Council’s actions have not caused Mr X significant enough injustice to warrant investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman