The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate how the Council dealt with Mr X’s councillor conduct complaint as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council did not take his complaint, that a councillor had been rude in a public setting, seriously. Mr X says this made him angry.
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 the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and the Council’s procedure for dealing with councillor conduct complaints.
My assessment
We will not investigate as I am satisfied the Council dealt with this matter in line with its policy for dealing with complaints about councillor conduct. The Council, in conjunction with its Independent Person (IP), considered Mr X’s concerns, the evidence available and explained why it did not consider the complaint should be investigated. In its view, the councillor was not acting in her official capacity when the conduct complained of took place, and as such, under its policy, the complaint could not be progressed.
I recognise Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision, but it was entitled to make it. We could only question that decision if there was fault in the way it was made. I consider it is unlikely we will find such fault.
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