Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to add a shield to the streetlight outside Mr X’s house. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making process to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council has unfairly refused to add shields to the streetlight outside his house which shines into his property. Mr X also says the Council referred to an incorrect address in a response to his complaint.
2. Mr X says this causes difficulty with sleeping and affects his family’s mental health.

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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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X says the streetlight outside his house shines into his property meaning that he must have his curtains/blinds closed at all times.
8. The Council’s contractor attended the area and found the light levels against Mr X’s property were significantly lower than the maximum levels allowed before it would intervene. It explained that Mr X could pay for light shields and provided information about how to proceed with this but confirmed it would not use public funds to cover the cost of the additional work. The Council’s decision is in-line with its policy and there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant us investigating.
9. The Council did refer to an incorrect street name in one of its responses to Mr X’s complaint. However, this appears to have been an isolated error and I have seen no evidence to suggest it wrongly affected its decision.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making process to warrant us investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman