The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of matters relating to Ms X’s allegation of an assault she sustained. This is because an investigation is unlikely to usefully add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, says the Council failed in its duty of care towards her when it failed to properly investigate her complaint about an assault she suffered from a member of the public at an entertainment event.
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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X, including the Council’s response to her complaint.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X complained to the Council about its handling of matters relating to an assault she sustained from a member of the public while attending an entertainment event at a venue run and managed by the Council.
The Council responded to the various issues Ms X raised. It also acknowledged she had not received a call back when she had been told she would and that she should have been given details of the Council’s complaints procedure earlier.
While it is noted that Ms X says the events which took place have caused her mental anguish, we do not investigate every complaint we receive. The Council responded appropriately to her complaint and an investigation by the Ombudsman would be unlikely to usefully add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a recommendation for compensation, an outcome Ms X seeks.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because an investigation is unlikely to usefully add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman