The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a complaint about councillor conduct as the complainant is not impacted by this personally to a degree that would warrant our involvement.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s assessment of his complaint about comments a councillor made on social media about third parties, which Mr X considered to be abusive/libellous. Mr X does not consider the Council carried out an independent assessment of his complaint. Mr X wants the Council to issue the councillor with a warning.
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 effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
While I recognise that Mr X feels strongly about this matter, we will not investigate as he has not personally suffered a significant loss or harm as a result of the complaint. Consequently, as we must use public money carefully, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he is not personally affected to a degree that would warrant our further involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman