Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Authority’s handling of Ms X’s complaint about graffiti as this does not cause sufficient injustice to Ms X to justify our further involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains she has been frustrated by the Authority’s response to her complaints about graffiti on a road sign. Ms X wants the graffiti to be removed.

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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 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 the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. I recognise Ms X has strong feelings about this matter but from our perspective she is not caused a level of personal injustice from her complaint to justify our further involvement. We have limited resources and must direct them to the most serious cases, in the public interest. This is not such a case.
6. For this reason, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because she is not caused a level of injustice from it to justify our further involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman