The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to submit his questions to a Council meeting. There is no significant injustice, and we cannot achieve the outcome he is looking for.
The complaint
Mr X said he was unhappy the Council refused to accept several questions he submitted to it, for inclusion at a Council meeting. Mr X said the Council’s reasons for refusing these were wrong and inaccurate. He said he was concerned about the impact on local democracy and wants the Council to pay damages and respond to the questions he submits.
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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X wrote to the Council with several questions in advance of a Council meeting. The Council refused to accept the questions and explained why. Mr X was unhappy with the explanations and complained to us.
We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X has not suffered a significant personal injustice, which is serious enough to warrant a full Ombudsman investigation. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the Council.
This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
Mr X has also asked for consideration of an award of punitive damages to be made against the Council. We do not award punitive damages and therefore cannot achieve the substantive outcome he is looking for.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no significant injustice and we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X is looking for.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman