Warrington Council (18 018 064)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr B complained about the way the Council dealt with a complaint about an incident with an officer outside his property. We consider the Council investigated the matter properly and took appropriate action.
The complaint
- Mr B complains that Warrington Council (the Council) failed to properly investigate or respond to a complaint he made about the actions of a highways officer in October 2018.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
- If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant, made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided. I have written to Mr B and the Council with my draft decision and considered their comments.
What I found
- Mr B complained to the Council in November 2018 about an incident with a highways officer at Mr B’s property the previous month. He considered the officer was rude, unprofessional and confrontational. Mr B also considered the officer parked in a dangerous manner obstructing the highway
- The officer had interrupted a conversation Mr B was having with another person. The officer accused him of not removing items obstructing the highway and said the Council had sent Mr B a letter about it. He raised other issues regarding the verge outside Mr B’s property and Mr B raised issues of fly-tipping.
- The Council visited Mr B in December 2018 to discuss his complaint. The Council also interviewed the officer concerned about the allegations. It then contacted Mr B’s witness and asked if they could provide a statement. The Council received the statement in early January 2019.
- On the basis of the evidence obtained the Council upheld Mr B’s complaint and took action in respect of the officer. It wrote to Mr B to confirm this but did not provide any details of what it had done.
- Mr B said he was dissatisfied with the outcome. The Council visited Mr B again in February 2019 and advised him to complain at stage two of the complaints procedure. It sent him details of how to do this. Mr B complained to the Ombudsman.
Analysis
- I understand Mr B was distressed by the incident. However I cannot find fault with the way the Council investigated his complaint and responded to it. It visited him to fully understand the issues, interviewed the officer and obtained further evidence from a third party. On the basis of the evidence obtained it upheld the complaint and took further action in respect of the officer.
- I accept the email informing Mr B of this was brief, but the Council was unable to provide full details of the action taken against the officer due to confidentiality.
- The Council has acknowledged the officer was at fault and taken appropriate steps in response. I do not consider any further action is warranted.
Final decision
- I have completed my investigation into this complaint as I am unable to find fault causing injustice in the actions of the Council towards Mr B.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman