upgrading

Sounds like you don’t have full Admin status. Using PhpMyadmin (or another MySQL managament tool), first backup the site’s database. Then navigate to the wp_usermeta table and locate the meta_key called “wp_capabilities” for your user_id. Change the meta-value for this record to:

a:1:{s:13:"administrator";b:1;}

Are you logging in as admin or with admin role?

[Edit] Opps, never mind.

admin plus passord

The origional files are on someone else’ computer does this make a difference

No.

I can’t upgrade to version 3.1.3 or upload new themes,

What happens? Do you get an error message?

I get a screen asking for Hostname, user name & password, I put all this in click upgrade and it says upgrade failed

Can you actually log into your host with the above settings?

Have you checked this? You can do a manual upgrade.
https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Updating_WordPress

I get a screen asking for Hostname, user name & password

Are you entering your FTP logon details here? Have you checked that these details are correct?

I can get into host fine, tried manual too but got the same
I found this in the help pages:
Note that your files all need to be owned by the user under which your Apache server executes, or you will receive a dialog box asking for “connection information,” and you will find that no matter what you enter, you won’t be able to update.
So thought it might mean I need to transfer all files to my PC before I can upgrade.
As I said I have never used wordpress before more used to Dreamweaver

You need to ask your hosts to check the ownership on your WordPress folders.

All I want to do to the website is upgrade it to a better layout as it is very basic and then work on the content. It is a Club Website and has not had much done to it for a long time

I know who owns it, its the person I am taking over from

Well you either need to get the folder ownerships changed or you’ll have to upgrade manually.

I know who owns it

No – folder ownership. Not site ownership.

This is a good article on the subject, https://www.chrisabernethy.com/why-wordpress-asks-connection-info/