Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about play equipment in a park which the complainant says is dangerous. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says there is dangerous play equipment in a park. He disagrees with the Council’s assessment that it is safe. Mr X wants the Council to remove the item.

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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 an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I considered the safety report for the item. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

What happened

4. Mr X reported some play equipment to the Council. He said he had seen a child get stuck in a spinning bowl and could not get out whilst spinning around very fast. He said the child was upset.
5. The Council immediately sent an officer to inspect the spinning bowl. The officer found the bowl was in good working order and safe. The Council explained this to Mr X. It also explained there are signs which say children should be supervised at all times. In response, Mr X said he agreed there were no defects with the equipment but a child could suffer internal damage due to a design flaw in the bowl.
6. The Council repeated that the bowl had been inspected and was safe. The Council said the item has passed all the standards and the Council had checked the product safety report.
7. Mr X disagrees with the Council’s response. He says the equipment is dangerous and the Council should remove it.

Assessment

8. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council responded appropriately by immediately inspecting the equipment and establishing there are no defects. It has also put up signs warning people that children must be supervised. In addition, the Council has checked that the product has passed the relevant risk assessments and safety checks. I appreciate Mr X disagrees with the Council’s response but the fact that he disagrees is not evidence of fault.

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Final decision

9. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman