Newcastle upon Tyne City Council (24 006 825)
Category : Environment and regulation > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 04 Mar 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X’s dissatisfaction with various Council services operated in his locale, including grass cutting, weed removal and litter collection. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Mr X to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
- Mr X complains that the Council is failing to properly maintain his local area or further afield so that some areas look unmaintained and abandoned.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
- 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, or
- any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
- any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council, including its response to the complaint.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We do not investigate every complaint we receive and we will not investigate where there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to the complainant.
- While Mr X may be dissatisfied with various services provided by the Council and their frequency, it is for the Council to decide on the priority and frequency of its services based on its policies and procedures. It is not our role to review the merits of these decisions or policies.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Mr X to warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman