Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about problems with his household waste collections. This is because the case does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. The injustice to Mr X is not significant enough to warrant an investigation. Our involvement would be unlikely to add anything to the Council’s response or lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council has failed to collect his household waste on several occasions. Mr X is registered for an assisted collection where staff collect and return his bin.

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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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or

(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 the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In response to Mr X’s complaint the Council apologised for the missed collections. It said it had arranged for the waste to be collected and had issued its crews with extra reminders.
6. We will not start an investigation into Mr X’s complaint. We are funded by the public purse and have an obligation to use our limited resources in an effective, efficient, and economic manner. We only investigate the most serious cases.
7. While I understand Mr X’s frustrations, the injustice is not significant enough to warrant our involvement. Also, we will not normally investigate where an investigation is unlikely to add anything to the one already undertaken by the Council or lead to a significantly different outcome. That applies here as our intervention would not achieve anything more for Mr X. The Council has returned when there have been missed collections and taken the steps we would expect. Mr X has not provided details of any recent issues. An investigation is not therefore warranted.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The injustice is not significant enough and an investigation would be unlikely to add anything to the Council’s response or achieve anything more.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman