Middlesbrough Borough Council (21 012 179)
Category : Environment and regulation > Cemeteries and crematoria
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 21 Dec 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council are responsible for damage to a family headstone. This is because it is reasonable for the complainant to pursue the matter to court.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains that the Council are responsible for damage to his family headstone. He submitted a claim to the Council’s insurers, but they did not accept liability.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I will not investigate this complaint because Mr X may pursue his claim by taking the Council to court.
- The role of the Ombudsman is to consider complaints of administrative fault. We cannot decide liability in complaints about damage to property. This is for the Council’s insurers and ultimately for the courts.
- Only the court can decide if the Council has been negligent. The court can decide what damages, if any, the Council should pay. Also, unlike the Ombudsman, the court can order a party to pay damages.
- I find it is reasonable for Mr X to take the Council to court. The fees for making a claim are relatively modest and Mr X may ask for the fee to be reimbursed if his claim is successful.
- Mr X is unhappy with the way the Council dealt with his complaint. But it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to take the Council to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman