Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about graveyard maintenance. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains about the lack of maintenance to the graveyard where his parents are buried.

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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 effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (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 complained to the Council about the maintenance work carried out in the graveyard where his parents are buried. He said maintenance was not carried out often enough and the area becomes overgrown, posing a safety hazard. Mr X said on one occasion he had to maintain the area himself in order to gain access to the graves.
7. The Council explained that maintenance work to closed graveyards, such as this one, is carried out every four to six weeks between April and October. It explained this schedule reflects the nature of the graveyard (closed) and allows grasses, fauna and flora to grow and aids increased biodiversity. It acknowledged that on two occasions it completed the maintenance work just outside this timeframe. It said this was due to various factors such as weather conditions, bank holiday and on one occasion other work had to be carried out before the maintenance work could begin.
8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation. There were no significant periods of delay in the Council carrying out the maintenance in line with its maintenance schedule for closed graveyards. It is a matter for the Council to decide its policy on how often to carry out maintenance on closed graveyards. It has acted largely in line with this and has explained why, on two occasions, it was slightly outside of this time frame. This minor delay in itself would not have caused any significant injustice which would warrant an investigation. There is nothing further we could add to the response the Council has already provided on the matter.
9. I note one of the outcomes Mr X sought in making his complaint was to receive a partial refund of his Council Tax payments. This is not an outcome that would have been achievable even if we had decided to investigate the complaint. Council Tax is a local property tax. It is not a service charge and so no refund is due where a particular Council service is not received for any reason.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant a further investigation by us.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman