London Borough of Hillingdon (23 018 252)
Category : Other Categories > Leisure and culture
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 26 Mar 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to replace the flooring at an outdoor gym. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
The complaint
- Miss X complained the Council refused to replace the flooring at an outdoor gym after she fell over and hurt herself.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:
- there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X complained to the Council after she fell and suffered an injury whilst using a Council run outdoor gym. Miss X said the Council should change the flooring to softer low impact flooring.
- The Council told Miss X softer flooring was only required at gyms were the risk of falling was highest. The Council confirmed all of its gyms conform to the national standards and whilst it was unfortunate that she had fallen, there were no plans to change the flooring at the gym concerned.
- Miss X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman as she was unhappy with the Council’s response.
- The evidence shows the Council has explained to Miss X why it will not change the flooring and it has confirmed the outdoor gym meets all required standards. There is no evidence the Council has acted with fault in making this decision.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman