London Borough of Barking & Dagenham (24 013 331)
Category : Environment and regulation > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 29 Jan 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a failure to keep the street and pavement near the complainant’s home litter free. The Council confirms it visits the street every fortnight. It also says it has monitored the location and will decide whether it needs to target its resources in a different way. We consider that further investigation will not lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council is failure to keep streets and pavements close to his home free from rubbish.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X is not satisfied with street cleaning near his home
- The Council confirms:
- Crews visit location each fortnight.
- It is not possible to conform exact dates and times but it records attendance and reschedules any missed visits for the same week.
- There is no separate daily litter patrol, so any hazards or heavy littering that may arise in between routine visits, should be reported online.
The Council also arranged for officers to monitor the condition of the road for weeks and take photos. It will then decide if it should target its resources in a different way.
- I understand Mr X is not satisfied with the outcome of his complaint. However, it is for the Council to decide how to use its resources.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we consider that further investigation will not lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman