Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate how the Council dealt with the complainant’s concerns about a driver working for the Council or its contractor. It is unlikely he would find fault by the Council caused the complainant significant injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr B, has complained the Council took no action when he complained about how an employee of the Council, or a contractor working for the Council, was driving.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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’.
3. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered what Mr B said in his complaint and background information provided by the Council. Mr B commented on a draft before I made this decision.

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What I found

5. Mr B complained to the Council about how someone had driven a vehicle. He provided a video taken from a ‘dashcam’.
6. The Council considered Mr B’s complaint and, as a result, the driver was assessed. The assessment raised no concerns about the driver’s ability.

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Final decision

7. I have decided we will not investigate this complaint because we are unlikely to find fault by the Council has caused Mr B injustice that would warrant our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman