The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint made by a councillor about the Council’s lack of response to Code of Conduct complaints made to it about some local councillors. This is because the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction as we can only accept complaints from members of the public.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to as Councillor X, complains about the Council’s lack of response to various Code of Conduct complaints made to it about some councillors over a two-year period.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 the complainant’s representative.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
By law, we cannot accept complaints made by councillors when they are not complaining as a member of the public but as an elected member. We have no discretion here.
Final decision
We will not investigate Councillor X’s complaint because the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction as we can only accept complaints from members of the public.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman