The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with allegations that the complainant breached the Member’s Code of Conduct. This is because the complainant is not complaining as a member of the public.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, has complained about how the Council dealt with an allegation that she breached the Member’s Code of Conduct. Mrs X says the Monitoring Officer was biased and did not follow the proper process. She says she has been caused significant stress and her business has been affected by the matter.
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 can only accept complaints from members of the public or their authorised representatives. This means we cannot accept complaints from councillors complaining about something relating to their position as a councillor. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X.
I have considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The law says we can investigate complaints from members of the public who claim to have suffered injustice because of fault by a council. Local councillors complaining about issues relating to their role as a councillor are not members of the public. We cannot investigate this complaint as Mrs X is complaining in her capacity as a councillor.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she is complaining in her capacity as a councillor and not as a member of the public.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman