Summary: Mr X complains that the Mayor did not answer a question Mr X put to him at a Council meeting. He also complains that he was bullied by Council staff. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has its own complaints procedure which Mr X can use about the Mayor not answering his question, and we are unlikely to find fault by the Council causing significant injustice to Mr X. Mr X’s complaint about bullying is late and is therefore out of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Mayor did not answer a question which Mr X put to him at a Council meeting. The question related to a Council policy at Mr X’s local swimming pool, where Mr X also complains that he has been bullied by some of the lifeguards.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mr X gave to the Ombudsman in his complaint. I also considered the Council’s replies to Mr X’s complaints.
5. Mr X has been provided with a draft of this decision and I have considered his comments in response to it.

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What I found

6. Mr X is unhappy about the Council’s policy on lane use at his local swimming pool.
7. Mr X complains that he has been verbally threatened by lifeguards at the local swimming pool. Mr X says he reported the threats to the Council but has been ignored.
8. In February 2013 Mr X complained to the Council that he had been intimidated by lifeguards at his local swimming pool.
9. The Council investigated and Mr X received a stage 2 decision in March 2014 which concluded that there was no intention to intimidate Mr X. Instead the lifeguards were responding to Mr X’s refusal to abide by the swimming pool rules, a point which Mr X conceded, and their aim was to ensure safety.
10. Mr X attended a Council meeting on 23 January 2019 and put a question to the Mayor in relation to the Council’s lane use swimming policy.
11. Mr X complains that the Mayor did not respond to his question and he would like the Ombudsman to request a response from the Mayor.

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Analysis

12. Mr X has not complained to the Council about the Mayor’s lack of response to his question and the law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the Council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply.
13. The Council has its own complaints procedure which Mr X can use. This can be accessed via the Council website. The Council can also be contacted by post or telephone.
14. Mr X has already complained to the Council about bullying. He received his stage 2 reply in 2014 and his claim to the Ombudsman is therefore late (see paragraph 3). There are no reasons for the delay which would persuade me to exercise the Ombudsman’s discretion to investigate.

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Final decision

15. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has its own complaints procedure which Mr X can use regarding the Mayor’s failure to answer his question and we are unlikely to find fault by the Council causing significant injustice to Mr X. Mr X’s complaint about bullying by Council staff is late and is therefore out of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman