Summary: Mr B complains about the Council’s handling of security at one of its leisure centres and its response to the theft of money from the locker he used. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because it is unlikely we can add to the investigation already carried out by the Council and an investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr B, says the Council failed to discharge its duty of care in relation to theft from a leisure centre locker he used. It failed to warn customers sufficiently about a spate of locker thefts and staff failed to respond to police communication. He says the Council should admit its complacency and its part in the theft and compensate him for the large amount of money stolen.

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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:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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

3. We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about a personnel issue. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5a, paragraph 4, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Mr B and the Council. I gave Mr B the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered what he said.

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What I found

6. While using Council leisure facilities, Mr B placed a large sum of money in one of the lockers which was broken into and the money stolen.
7. Mr B reported the matter to staff and the police. The police sought to view available CCTV images at the time of the theft but numerous attempts at contact did not elicit a response to allow the police to view the footage before the images were wiped following the usual retention time.
8. Mr B complained to the Council about its handling of matters. His concerns were addressed first by the Council Manager and then under Stage 2 of the Council’s complaints procedure.
9. Mr B’s concerns and queries were addressed in some detail during the Council’s consideration of the matters he had raised. However, it concluded it had taken reasonable steps to discharge its duty of care to him and that the matters about which he had complained did not cause or contribute to the loss he had suffered, pointing out that it had been a highly unusual step to leave such a large amount of money in a leisure centre locker. The Council explained its lockers were widely used industry-standard and that it could not comment on the police investigation or its own investigation into staff matters.

Assessment

10. While I understand Mr B’s distress at the theft of such a large amount of money, I have not seen evidence to suggest the theft was as a result of fault by the Council or that its fault contributed to the theft. If Mr B believes the Council was in some way negligent then the courts would be the best setting for the consideration of such a claim.
11. Mr B wants to know the outcome of the Council’s investigation concerning staff at the centre. It has explained such matters are confidential. By law, personnel and disciplinary matters fall outside our jurisdiction and we have no discretion here.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we can add to the investigation already carried out by the Council and an investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman