Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about public transport provision. Any injustice Mr X has experienced is not significant enough to justify our involvement, and we could not add to the investigation the Council has already carried out.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about a lack of bus provision on Sundays.
2. Mr X says this caused distress.
3. Mr X wants the Council to properly consider his complaint and put on bus timetables on Sundays.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. We will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by an organisation. In addition, we will not normally investigate a complaint where the complainant is using their enquiry as a way of raising a wider community campaign about something of general concern, but where they have not suffered significant injustice.
8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. Any injustice he has experienced is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
9. The Council told Mr X it would ensure his comments were used as part of its continuing monitoring of demand for bus timetables on Sundays and as part of its continuing dialogue with bus providers. We could not add to the investigation the Council has already carried out.
10. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures if we decide not to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because any injustice he has experienced is not significant enough to justify our involvement, and we could not add to the investigation the Council has already carried out.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman