Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about gym memberships because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains the Council will not let her 13 year old son take out a gym membership. Mrs X wants the Council to allow younger children to join the gym if they have passed an induction.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. The Council offers gym membership to people from the age of 14. It does not offer memberships to children younger than 14.
5. Mrs X complained to the Council that it would not give her 13 year old son a gym membership. He had attended a private gym and hurt himself. Mrs X wanted him to join the Council gym where he would be properly supervised. Her son will be 14 this year.
6. In response the Council explained that its policy, based on child development and health and safety, is to offer memberships to those aged at least 14 years of age. It explained there are other activities her son can do until he is 14 and it offered some free swimming vouchers.
7. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The rules say the Council offers memberships to those aged at least 14 years of age; on this basis the Council correctly told Mrs X that her son can join when he turns 14. The Council’s decision is consistent with the policy so there is no reason to start an investigation.
8. We are not an appeal body and we cannot intervene because a council makes a decision that someone disagrees with. Further, it is not our role to tell a council what policies and procedures to adopt – that is the job of the Council. If Mrs X thinks the Council should allow younger children to join the gym then she would need to lobby the Council to change its rules. But, that would be a decision for the Council to make, not us.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman