Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to repair a handrail along a public footpath. Mr X has not suffered a significant personal injustice which would warrant our involvement and, in any case, there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to repair a handrail along a public footpath, after he reported damage.
2. Mr X said the damaged handrail caused a safety risk to residents.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. Mr X complained the Council did not repair a handrail which runs along a public footpath. Mr X said he reported the issue and chased responses from the Council many times.
7. In its complaint response, the Council acknowledged the delay in responding to Mr X. It said this was because of issues it faced when transferring to a new case management system. It also said it had arranged to repair the handrail.
8. We will not normally investigate a complaint unless there is good reason to believe the complainant has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the Council. To satisfy this threshold we would need to be satisfied a person has suffered serious loss, or harm, or distress directly because of the Council’s actions.
9. The available evidence does not suggest the Council’s actions caused Mr X a significant personal injustice, which would meet the threshold for a full Ombudsman investigation.
10. In any case, the Council acknowledged issues in its communication with Mr X and arranged to repair the handrail. There is likely no other worthwhile outcome achievable by us by investigating this complaint.
11. For these reasons, we will not investigate this complaint.

Back to top

Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has not suffered a significant personal injustice and there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our involvement.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman