9.1 Is the complaint about action which affects all or most of the inhabitants of the area?

Section 26(7) covers this

 S26(7)  A Local Commissioner shall not conduct an investigation in respect of any action which in his opinion affects all or most of the inhabitants of the following

(aa) where the complaint relates to a National Park authority, the area of the Park for which it is such an authority;

(a) where the complaint relates to the Commission for the New Towns, the area of the new town or towns to which the complaint relates;

(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(ba) where the complaint relates to the Urban Regeneration Agency, any designated area within the meaning of Part III of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993;

(c) in any other case, the area of the authority concerned.

Remember the area of the authority means the whole of the local government area, e.g. the whole county or whole district.

Very few actions will affect all of the inhabitants so rejecting a complaint under this section will be rare. As to how many are “most”, the Ombudsman has interpreted it to mean a sizeable majority. Therefore a complaint about council tax increases will affect “most”.

The type of complaint that is clearly out of jurisdiction is where the complainant complains that a particular project is a waste of public money and that his or her only injustice is that he or she suffers as a council tax payer. In the decision letter, investigators should mention the possibility of complaining to the district auditor.

Some failures in public services that are available to all but used by comparatively few (eg failure to maintain a particular footpath) are not caught by this section as most of the inhabitants of an area are not affected by the failure.

A good test is to ask if the complainant is particularly affected by the alleged maladministration, i.e. has he or she suffered some injustice above and beyond that suffered by the public generally.

The section refers to the Local Commissioner’s “opinion”. So long as the question is considered properly and fairly the opinion would be unlikely to be open to a successful challenge. As always, set out your reasons in the decision statement.

A complaint may be expressed in a way that is caught by the section eg “the community centre which has been built next door to me is a waste of money”. But this formulation may disguise a complaint which would be within jurisdiction and so the investigator should probe to seek clarification from the complainant. This may reveal a legitimate complaint, such as the person complaining was not consulted before the council built the community centre next door, which affects their privacy.

Examples of complaints which would be OUT

• That a council did not obtain value for money in a tendering exercise.
• That a council has changed its refuse collection from weekly to fortnightly (or introduced a different method of collecting waste). But note there may occasionally be complaints where the person affected has an extra injustice, eg because of a disability.
• That a council has increased parking charges in the town centre.
• That a council has reduced the speed limit on its rural roads.
• That a particular project was a waste of taxpayer’s money.

Examples of complaints which would be IN

• That a council introduced parking charges at its country parks. IN because it is unlikely that a sizeable majority of the population will use the parks and pay for the parking.
• Similarly, removal of parking or other concessions for pensioners or people with disabilities would be IN.