The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the temperature of a swimming pool. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, says the Council has failed to assess heart health for people who use a swimming pool. She also says the Council has provided false temperature readings and has failed to ensure the pool is kept at an acceptable temperature
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence, information about pool temperatures and the pool records. I considered our Assessment Code and invited Ms X to comment on a draft of this decision.
My assessment
Ms X complained to the Council that the pool water was often too warm. She said the temperature was sometimes above 30 degrees which is dangerous, especially for people with heart conditions. She says the pool is a recreational pool and should have a temperature between 28 to 29 degrees. Ms X says the temperature has affected her health.
Swim England recommends that the maximum temperature for a recreational pool should be 29 degrees (recreational, adult teaching and conventional main pool). For leisure pools the recommendation is 30 degrees and 31 degrees for pools where children’s lessons take place. The code of practice for swimming pools recommends 27 to 29 degrees for recreational swimming and 28 to 30 degrees for leisure swimming.
The Council said the pool is a leisure pool which caters for child and adult swimming and swim parties. It said the recommended temperature range is between 28 to 30 degrees although the absolute limits are 27 to 31 degrees. The Council said the records show the temperature is maintained between 28 to 29 degrees. A Council officer visited and found the temperature was 28.4 degrees.
The Council agreed the temperature was too warm in August due to a fault but that was fixed. It said a fault was identified in January which meant some people had reported the water was too cool. The Council said the fault was being fixed.
Ms X disagrees the Council is keeping the water at a safe temperature. She alleges the Council has falsified the records.
I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council responded appropriately by arranging for an officer to check the water, explaining the recommended temperature ranges, and explaining some repairs are being done. I have looked at some of the logs and the temperature is between 27 to 29.4 degrees which is within the recommended range for the type of activities that take place in this pool. The logs also show that the Council acts when the temperature drifts from the recommended range. Ms X alleges the Council has falsified the logs but we could not conclude that was the case and, when an officer visited, her readings were consistent with the readings taking by pool staff. There would not be any reason for the Council to falsify records and there is nothing in the logs to suggest this.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman