The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about poor treatment Mr X received during a public event. This is because an investigation would not result in a worthwhile outcome for Mr X.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council failed to safeguard him after he participated in local public event, and this led to him experiencing discrimination.
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 no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(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 participated in a local event organised by the Council. He was unhappy with the treatment he received during the event and complained to the Council, citing discrimination.
The Council investigated and told Mr X it had received no record of the treatment he referenced. The Council invited Mr X to provide further information and confirmed it would be reviewing its practices going forward.
Mr X brought the complaint to us as he remains unhappy with the situation. The Ombudsman is an impartial body and must consider whether an investigation would make a difference as it uses public money to fund its investigations. In this case, there is no evidence to show what happened or way to quantify the injustice Mr X experienced. Further investigation would therefore be unable to result in a worthwhile outcome for him.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation would not result in a worthwhile outcome for Mr X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman