Summary: Mr X complains about how the Council fixed faults at a leisure centre. Mr X said the Council wasted public money by taking too long to identify the fault and by repairing the wrong things. The Ombudsman has discontinued his investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about how the Council fixed faults at a leisure centre. Mr X said the Council has wasted public money by taking too long to identify the fault and by repairing the wrong things.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
3. 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 injustice is not significant enough to justify the cost of our involvement, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I spoke with Mr X and considered the information he provided.
5. I sent a draft decision to Mr X and the Council for their comments

Back to top

What I found

6. In 2018, Mr X contacted the Council about leaks in the leisure centre shower rooms.
7. Between 2018 and 2019, the Council made numerous repairs to fix the issue causing the leak. These attempts were successful for a short period of time before the leaks returned.
8. In September 2019, the Council confirmed it had now repaired the issue by replacing the drainage section in the floor.
9. Mr X made a complaint to the Council about the time taken to resolve the issue. Mr X also complained the Council had wasted public money by not fixing what he believed to be the cause of the leaks. Mr X said he told the Council what he believed was the issue and what action it needed to take to fix the problem.
10. The Council explained it had completed repairs to solve each issue identified by its contractor. The Council said there may have been multiple reasons for the leak. The Council confirmed it could not ask its contractor to reimburse the Council because the contractor had completed work to find the root cause of the leak and had completed a number of repairs.
11. Mr X said as an outcome to our investigation, he wanted the Council to stop wasting money and to fix the problem so he can use the facilities again.

Analysis

12. I am discontinuing my investigation. I will set out my reasons for doing so below.
13. It is unlikely we would find fault with the Council. It is clear from the evidence available the Council took action to repair the leaks. It is also clear the repairs often worked for a few weeks before the problems returned.
14. It is accepted Mr X had a theory as to what the issue was and that he had told the Council what he believed was causing the leaks. However, we are unlikely to find fault with the Council for not listening to Mr X. This is because it had commissioned its contractor to identify the problem and it is reasonable for the Council to follow the advice of its contractor.
15. Further, the evidence suggests the alleged fault has not caused Mr X any significant injustice. Mr X said he was unable to use the sauna facilities while the repair works were completed. I do not consider this to be a significant injustice to warrant further investigation into the matter.
16. Finally, we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants. Mr X said he wanted the Council to stop wasting money. The Ombudsman role is not one of a regulator or auditor. We have no remit to tell the Council how it spends its budget.
17. Mr X also wanted the issue to be fixed. When I spoke with Mr X, he confirmed the Council had now repaired the leaks. Therefore, there is nothing further I can achieve from an investigation.

Back to top

Final decision

18. I have discontinued my investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman