The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision on a councillor conduct complaint as it is unlikely we will find fault in the way the Council considered the matter.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council failed to properly consider his complaint that a councillor had breached the Council’s code of conduct when they started unfounded disciplinary proceedings against him in his role as chairman of a local community group.
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 consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council assessed Mr X’s complaint. It acknowledged the councillor had used their Council email address. However it decided not to investigate as, in its view, the councillor was not acting in their official capacity as an elected member of the Council when the alleged breach of the code took place. Therefore, it decided the code of conduct was not engaged.
I recognise Mr X disagrees with the Council’s view and has strong feelings about the actions of the councillor. But the Council is entitled to reach the decision it did, and it is in line with its complaint policy. We could only be critical of the decision if there was evidence of fault in the way it was made; I have not seen such evidence.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman