The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a complaint about councillor conduct. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council dealt with the complaint to warrant our involvement.
The complaint
Ms X and Ms Y complain the Council made the wrong decision when it decided not to investigate their complaint that three councillors breached the code of conduct.
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 complainants and on the Council’s website.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Ombudsman does not offer a right of appeal against a council’s decision on member conduct complaints, nor can we consider the actions of the councillors which led to the complaint to the Council. But we can consider if there was fault in the way the council considered the complaint.
Ms X and Ms Y complained to the Council that three councillors had breached the Council’s code of conduct.
Following the Council’s published procedure on dealing with complaints about the conduct of councillors, the Council’s Monitoring Officer assessed the complaint.
The Council says it: reviewed all the information provided by Ms X and Ms Y considered the Council’s Standing Orders reviewed correspondence between the councillors and Ms X and Ms Y viewed the webcast of the meeting concerned obtaining the responses of the councillors concerned; and consulting with the Council’s Independent Person the Monitoring Officer decided there was no breach of the code of conduct.
This is a decision the Council is entitled to make. Without evidence of fault in the decision-making process the Ombudsman cannot question the decision. I acknowledge Ms & Ms Y disagree with the Council’s decision. However, I have not seen evidence to suggest fault in the process the Council followed to reach the decision that the councillor’s actions were not a breach of the code.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X and Ms Y’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council considered their complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman