Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his compensation claim. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take his claim to court.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council's handling of a claim for compensation. Mr X says his car was damaged after he drove over a pothole on a Council road.
2. Mr X also disputes a Council assertion that its inspection schedule found no defects on the road. He wants the Council to reimburse his repair costs of £300.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council’s responses to Mr X.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council has responded to Mr X. It declines any liability for damage to his car. It also says it had a reasonable system of inspection and repair in place, had received no reports of the defect before the incident, and therefore did not consider itself negligent under its duties as highway authority. The Council advises Mr X to seek independent legal advice if he wished to pursue the matter further
8. We will not investigate. The core issue is whether the Council was negligent in maintaining the highway and whether its inspection regime was adequate. The law provides a remedy for such disputes through the courts, where liability, negligence, the adequacy of inspections and the reliability of evidence can be tested.
9. It is therefore reasonable to expect Mr X to go to court. Only the courts can decide legally if the Council has maintained the highway properly or is liable for any damages due to a failure to repair the highway. The Ombudsman has no powers to compel the Council to reimburse Mr X.
10. Finally, it is not a proportionate use of our resources to investigate the Council’s complaint/claim handling when we are not investigating the core complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X ’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect him to go to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman