The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council’s Monitoring Officer dealt with a complaint about the conduct of a councillor. We are unlikely to find fault in the way the Council considered the matter.
The complaint
The complainant, I shall call Mr X, complains the Council failed to properly investigate his complaint about the conduct of a councillor.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered: information provided by Mr X including the Council’s response to his complaint the Council’s arrangements for dealing with complaints about councillors; and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Local Authorities have a duty to have a Monitoring Officer to ensure the legality and fairness of authority decision making. The Monitoring Officer must ensure the Council, its officers, and elected members uphold the highest standards of conduct. Each council has different rules for dealing with complaints about code of conduct breaches.
The Ombudsman does not provide an appeal against the Monitoring Officer’s decision. We can only look at how the complaint was considered. We cannot investigate or comment on the actions of the councillor complained about.
In this case, the Monitoring Officer assessed the complaint. Following consultation with the Council’s Independent Person, they decided not to investigate the complaint as the councillor was not acting as an elected member when the alleged breach of the code took place.
I understand Mr X disagrees. But this was a decision the Monitoring Officer was entitled to make. As the Monitoring Officer dealt with Mr X’s complaint according to the procedure for dealing with code of conduct complaints, it is unlikely I could find fault.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because I have seen no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered Mr X’s complaint that a councillor breached the code of conduct.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman