The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council preventing Mr X from bringing a wheeled object into a Council building. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions. In addition, Mr X has not sustained a significant injustice due to this matter.
The complaint
Mr X complained a security guard prevented him from bringing a wheeled object into the toilets inside a Council building.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X attempted to use the public toilets at a Council building whilst he was visiting the area but was stopped by a security guard because he had a small, wheeled object with him.
Mr X complained to the Council that he was unhappy with the security guard’s behaviour and failure to provide an explanation for why he could not bring the object inside the toilets.
The Council investigated and said Mr X was not prevented from using the toilets, but the security guard told Mr X to stow the object away in a nearby designated area before entering. Mr X disagrees with this. The Council also explained it had adopted a policy of not allowing objects of this nature inside the building due to past incidents where members of the public had been placed at risk. Mr X was unhappy with the Council’s response and brought the complaint to the Ombudsman.
The Council has provided a reasonable explanation for why it would not allow Mr X to bring the object inside the building. Whilst it is not possible to know what exactly occurred when Mr X attempted to use the public toilets, based on the evidence seen so far it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a finding of fault on the Council’s part. Further, the injustice suffered by Mr X in connection with this matter is minimal and it would not be a good use of public resources to look into this further.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions. In addition, Mr X has not sustained a significant injustice due to this matter.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman