The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a councillor conduct complaint as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council has not properly investigated his complaint that a councillor sent an email containing negative and personally damaging comments about him. Mr X says his reputation has been damaged.
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)) We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection/freedom of informaiton. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council’s procedure for dealing with councilor conduct complaints.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council assessed Mr X’s complaint. It said it had made enquiries but had not found evidence of an email as described by Mr X in his complaint and that therefore a potential breach of the councillor’s code of conduct was not identified. It concluded it could not therefore take the matter forward but would do so, if Mr X could provide a copy of the email in question. Mr X has I believe made a freedom of information request to the Council for a copy of this email.
I recognise Mr X is unhappy at the Council’s response, but we will not investigate as it is unlikely we will find fault by it. Under its procedure, the Council filters out complaints where a conduct breach is not evidenced. This is what the Council has done and we cannot be critical of it unless there is evidence of fault in the way it reached this decision. While Mr X believes the email does exist, this does not, at this stage, equate to the Council being at fault in its assessment of his complaint. As such, we will not investigate.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent regulator in respect of data protection matters. If Mr X is unhappy with the Council’s response to his information request, it is best placed to deal with any complaint Mr X would wish to make about that matter.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman