Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (25 010 347)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We have upheld Miss X’s complaint because the Council did not review Miss X’s ban from the Town Hall after six months. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss X and make service improvements.
The complaint
- Miss X complains the Council banned her from the Town Hall and did not carry out a review at six months.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended).
- If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- If we were to investigate this complaint, it is likely we would find the Council at fault. The Council wrote to Miss X banning her from the Town Hall and said it would review its decision in six months. While the Council was entitled to ban Miss X, it did not carry out a review. Further, it does not have a policy setting out when it may restrict entry to its buildings, and detailing review periods or appeal rights.
- We asked the Council to consider resolving the complaint early by taking the following actions:
- Within one month:
- apologise to Miss X, taking into account our guidance on making apologies found here: guidance on remedies
- Within three months:
- publish a policy setting out when the Council may restrict entry to its buildings, including any review periods and any appeal rights.
Agreed Action
- To its credit, the Council agreed to resolve the complaint by taking the actions set out above.
Final decision
- We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Miss X and by making service improvements.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman