The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about access to a community centre. This is because some of the issues complained about do not relate to an administrative function of the Council. Mrs Y has not suffered significant injustice in relation to any concerns about how the Council handled her complaint.
The complaint
Mrs X complains her parent, Mrs Y, was banned from a community centre.
She says Mrs Y was not given a detailed explanation of the reason for the ban and is very upset by this.
She would like a detailed explanation and for the ban to be lifted.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of a council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).
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.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has confirmed that it is not responsible for the management and running of the community centre as the site is leased to a third party. The Council therefore has no involvement in the decision to ban Mrs Y from attending the centre. It has suggested Mrs Y make a complaint to the community centre directly. As the issues Mrs Y has complained about do not relate to an administrative function of the Council, the complaint is outside our jurisdiction.
The Council has accepted there were issues with how it handled the complaint. However, I do not consider the injustice Mrs Y suffered because of any fault with how the Council dealt with the complaint, would be significant enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman as a stand-alone matter.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint on behalf of Mrs Y because the issues raised do not relate to an administrative function of the Council. Mrs Y has not suffered significant injustice because of any issues with how the Council dealt with her complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman