Trafford Council (20 008 420)
Category : Other Categories > Leisure and culture
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 19 Jan 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about play equipment in a park because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says the Council should change the design of play equipment in a park to prevent accidents.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I considered the 2020 park inspection report and some of the reports from the weekly inspections. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.
What I found
What happened
- Mr X’s friend’s son fell from a climbing frame while playing on the slide. Mr X says there is a defect with the equipment because there are no sides to stop a child from falling. Mr X complained to the Council.
- In response the Council explained the play area is inspected every week by a ROSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) trained inspector. In addition, every park has an annual ROSPA inspection. The Council explained the equipment was installed in 1992 and met the standards in force at that time. It said there is no requirement to make retrospective changes. It said it will do further inspections and deal with any actionable defects that are found.
Assessment
- I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The park had its annual inspection in April 2020 and no issues of particular concern, or risk, were identified. Some issues were identified but nothing that presented a high risk. The ROSPA inspector confirmed there is no requirement for a council to make retrospective changes. In addition, inspections carried out before and after the accident did not identify any defects. The Council will do further inspections and complete any work which is identified as being a requirement.
- I appreciate Mr X thinks there is a design fault with the equipment. But, ROSPA did not identify any issues and it is not fault for a council to follow the advice of professional inspectors. In addition, we are not inspectors and cannot comment on whether play equipment is safe; that is the role of trained inspectors.
Final decision
- I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman