Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about access to the Council’s household waste recycling centre. This is because there is no sign of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains he is unable to use his commercial van to dispose of his household waste at the Council’s household waste recycling centre and the Council has not provided him with a suitable alternative.

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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 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))

4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X complained to the Council that, as his only vehicle is a commercial van, he is unable to dispose of household waste at the Council’s household waste recycling centre. He said that as he is a Council Tax payer the Council should provide him with a suitable alternative.
8. The Council has a van permit system in place as part of its vehicle restrictions policy for access to its household waste recycling centres. It only issues permits to vans registered to individual residents and not to vans registered to companies or businesses. The Council introduced the van permit scheme in order to tackle issues around trade abuse and in order to decrease waiting times and improve site safety.
9. The Council signposted Mr X to the options available locally for residents who are unable to access a household waste recycling centre. This included options such as District Council bulky waste or recycling collection; retailer collection or take back; selling or donating items via Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, Freecycle, eBay or similar, charity donation, skip hire, hippo bag service, commercial waste company or by using a compliant vehicle to access the site.
10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault by the Council here. It is a matter for the Council to decide how best to manage access to its recycling centres. The reasons for its current policy are published on its website. The Council has acted in line with its policy and has provided relevant signposting information to Mr X. There is nothing further we could add to the response the Council has already provided. Whilst I note Mr X says he should have alternative provision as a Council Tax payer, Council Tax is a local property tax rather than a service charge. Payment of Council Tax does not entitle a resident access to any particular service the Council may provide for its residents. What is relevant is the criteria set out in the policy, which Mr X does not meet if he is using his own vehicle as it is a commercial van.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no sign of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman