London Borough of Barnet (26 000 178)
Category : Other Categories > Leisure and culture
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 09 Sep 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s complaint response and investigation regarding an incident that took place at Ms X’s local leisure centre. This is because the complaint is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate.
The complaint
- Ms X complained the Council failed to properly investigate an incident which took place at her local leisure centre. She said this caused her distress and upset.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X complained the Council failed to properly investigate inappropriate behaviour which took place at her local leisure centre in early 2025 and caused her distress. Ms X complained the Council’s failure to recognise the seriousness of what happened prevented her from taking legal action.
- The Council did not uphold her complaint but informed her that it was satisfied disciplinary measures were taken and the matter was handled correctly.
- Ms X remains unhappy with the situation and wants us to find the Council at fault. The evidence shows the events complained about took place more than 12 months before Ms X complained to us. The Ombudsman will not usually exercise discretion to investigate matters that took place this long ago unless there are good reasons to do so. It would have been reasonable for Ms X to approach us sooner. There is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the complaint is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman