Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to decline Mr X’s community trigger review request. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council's decision that his complaint regarding anti-social behaviour did not meet the threshold for the Council’s community trigger process.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X says he has been experiencing anti-social behaviour due to his neighbours for a long time.
6. Last year, Mr X submitted a request for the Council to hold a community trigger review regarding his issues with his neighbours. The community trigger review process is not a complaints procedure, but it allows for a review of matters where cases involving anti-social behaviour have been reported and inadequate action has been taken.
7. The Council declined Mr X’s request and Mr X raised a formal complaint about this. The Council did not uphold Mr X’s complaint, explaining that the community trigger review is meant for cases where three separate anti-social behaviour incidents have been reported within the previous six months without a resolution. Mr X was unhappy with the Council’s response so brought the complaint to the Ombudsman.
8. The Ombudsman cannot criticise the merits of a decision the Council has made in line with the correct process. In this case, the Council has found that Mr X’s request for a community trigger did not meet the threshold. The Council’s criteria regarding this process is clear and it was entitled to make this decision. An investigation would therefore be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s decision.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman