Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council responded to Mr X’s complaints about its traffic management measures. This is because there is no worthwhile outcome achievable.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council’s changes to roads in his area has had a negative impact on traffic in several ways. He contacted this office as he was not satisfied with the Council’s responses.
2. Mr X says the Council’s changes have increased traffic delays and caused accidents. He says the Council has not responded to him in a suitable way. He is seeking answers to his complaints and changes to the roads.

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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 we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X has complained about changes to a road system in his area. The Council has confirmed it is aware of the issues and has carried out an independent safety report.
7. The Council’s safety report has identified many issues which need action, or further consideration.
8. It is evident the Council is dealing with the issues Mr X has raised as part of a larger project to ensure the road systems are safe and follow legislation. It is in the process of making changes.
9. If we were to investigate the issues raised, we would not be likely to ask the Council to do more than it is currently doing.
10. We do not carry out investigations into the Council’s complaint handling where we are not investigating the substantive issue, as this is not a good use of public funds.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we would not achieve a worthwhile outcome by doing so.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman