Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how a staff member at a Council run leisure centre addressed him. The Council have already investigated, and we could not add anything to the Council’s investigation. In any case, we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants.

The complaint

1. Mr X said a staff member at a leisure centre controlled by the Council, spoke to him in a manner which he took to be discriminatory. Mr X said this caused him stress and has impacted on his mental wellbeing. Mr X wants the Council to reinvestigate his complaint and provide him with compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X had an encounter with a member of staff at a Council run leisure centre. Mr X believed the staff member behaved in a discriminatory manner and he complained. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint and then took the following action:
• It contacted Mr X to enquire about his complaint;
• it spoke to the member of staff and said it gave them advice;
• the staff member sent Mr X a note, apologising for their poor communication.
6. Mr X remained unhappy because he believed the Council’s responses did not fully acknowledge what he said was discrimination. We will not investigate this complaint, because we could not say a person acted in a discriminatory manner, and given the Council’s response and actions, we could not add anything to its investigation.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we could not add anything to the Council’s earlier investigation and we could not achieve the outcome he is seeking.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman