Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision on the designation of changing areas in its leisure facilities. It is unlikely we would find fault and there is no evidence of significant injustice. In any case we could not achieve the outcome Mrs X is asking for.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained because she said the Council were not doing enough to protect women and children, because of its decisions relating to segregated changing areas in its leisure facilities.
2. Mrs X cancelled her membership subscription because of her concern about these matters. And she now wants the Council to change how it provides changing facilities.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or

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

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mrs X complained to the Council, because she was unhappy with the Councils policy decision on how it decided who was eligible to use gender specified changing facilities. The Council responded and gave Mrs X an explanation for why it made this decision, and this included consideration of inclusivity and diversity. We will not investigate this matter, because it is unlikely we would find fault in how the Council decided to take this approach.
7. Additionally, we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by an organisation. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the complainant is using their enquiry as a way of raising a wider community campaign about something of general concern but where they have not suffered injustice.
8. Finally, Mrs X wants the Council to change how it provides changing areas and we could not direct the Council to do this.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint, because it is unlikely we would find fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman