The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council’s Monitoring Officer dealt with a complaint that the member’s code of conduct had been breached. This is because we are unlikely to find fault.
The complaint
Mr X has complained about how the Council’s Monitoring Officer dealt with a complaint about him. Mr X says he has made complaints about the Monitoring Officer in the past and they should not have been involved with his complaint due to a conflict of interest.
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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (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 says the Monitoring Officer should have had no involvement in the complaint against him. He says he has previously made serious complaints about the Monitoring Officer, and he does not consider they can be impartial or objective.
The Council does not agree there was a conflict of interest. However, even if this were the case, I consider it unlikely I would find fault by the Council. The Monitoring Officer consulted the Independent Person and referred the complaint to the Council’s Ethical Governance and Personnel Committee to consider. This is the process set out in the Council’s arrangements for dealing with code of conduct complaints where it is decided it is not appropriate for the Monitoring Officer to deal with the matter.
I understand Mr X says the Monitoring Officer was still involved with the complaint and believes they influenced the decision made by the committee. But the committee considered the evidence available and explained why the complaint should not be investigated further and the code of conduct had been breached.
As the Council dealt with the complaint in line with its criteria for code of conduct complaints, taking account of the relevant evidence, it is unlikely I would find fault.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman