Halton Borough Council (24 019 344)
Category : Other Categories > Leisure and culture
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Feb 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint that her son suffered an injury due to the Council’s failure to maintain a sign. This is because it is reasonable for Miss B to pursue her compensation claim by taking the Council to court.
The complaint
- Miss B complains her son suffered a broken finger due to the Council’s failure to maintain a sign it is responsible for. Miss B says this injury was preventable but the Council has wrongly refused her compensation claim and has not accepted responsibility.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The Act says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss B.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The role of the Ombudsman is to consider complaints of administrative fault. We do not normally investigate personal injury complaints. This is because such complaints are ultimately that an organisation has been negligent. Negligence claims are best decided by an organisation’s insurers, and if needed, the courts.
- We cannot decide whether an organisation has been negligent and we cannot order a party to pay damages.
- Miss B has received the Council’s decision on her compensation claim. She may now pursue her claim by taking the Council to court. Because of the seriousness of the issue complained about, I find it is reasonable and proportionate for Miss B to take such action.
- So, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because it is reasonable for her to take the Council to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman