Summary: Mr X complains the Council refuses to install a litter bin at the entrance to a wood near his home. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault or injustice to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council refuses to install a new litter bin at the entrance to a wood near his home. He also complains, the Council did not follow the complaints policy correctly.

Back to top

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’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by Mr X, including the Council’s responses to his complaints. He had the opportunity to comment on the draft version of this decision.

What I found

4. Mr X contacted the Council asking for another litter bin at the entrance to a wood close to his home. He points out the wood is a site of importance for nature conservation. And the Council should play its part in minimising littering by providing a bin for visitors to use.
5. The Council told Mr X that is will not install a bin in the location he suggested. It considers there enough bins in the area. It confirmed it has put up more signs encouraging people to clear up after their dogs. And says it has worked with children in the local school to discourage littering.
6. Mr X is also concerned the Council has failed to follow the its complaints procedure correctly.

Assessment

7. I understand Mr X’s wants to improve the wood close to his home which is important to nature conservation. But it is for the Council to prioritise and manage its budget and decide whether to install a new bin.
8. The Council explained to Mr X why it would not be installing another bin. I understand this is disappointing, but it is the Council’s role to prioritise the work it carries out. Also, even if there has been fault by the Council, this has not caused Mr X a personal injustice that would justify our involvement.
9. Turning to Mr X’s concerns about possible failure to follow the complaints procedure. We will not usually look at the way a complaint has been considered by itself. If we consider the original complaint is not something that we would investigate then we will not investigate a separate complaint about the complaints process. We do not consider there can be enough injustice to the complainant because of failings in the complaints process alone to warrant our involvement.

Back to top

Final decision

10. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because we have not seen any evidence of fault in the Council’s decision not to install an additional litter bin at Mr X’s suggested location. Nor do we consider he had suffered any significant personal injustice which warrants our involvement.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman