The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s management of traffic at the Henley Regatta. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council which caused Ms X injustice.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council does not have risk assessments for traffic management of the Regetta, has not complied with health and safety legislation and does not keep up to date records of accidents at the event, one of which she was involved in and injured.
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: 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant’s representative and the Council, including its response to the complaint.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Having been injured in a traffic accident at the Regetta, Ms X complained about the Council’s management of traffic at the event.
The Council responded to confirm that there is an annual review of traffic management prior to the event which is reviewed by it and the police. It confirmed there had been no reported accidents or near misses in several years and so nothing which required reporting to the Highways Authority. It concluded it had found no evidence it had not complied with health and safety legislation or failed to keep records of accidents and it did not uphold the complaint.
Ms X’s accident was most unfortunate but cannot be linked directly to the actions or omissions of the Council. If Ms X wishes to claim the Council has some liability for her accident then this would be a matter for the courts to determine. If she believes the Council has not provided all the information requested via her representative then it is open to her to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office, the body best placed to deal with FOI requests.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council which caused her injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman