The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to investigate a complaint that a councillor breached the code of conduct. The complaint to the Ombudsman is late and we have seen no reason why the complainant could not have approached us much sooner.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s decision to refuse to investigate his complaint about a councillor because it was made more than six months after the event.
Mr X says he could not complain sooner because the councillor had concealed his address.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council issued its decision notice on Mr X’s complaint in February 2023.
We cannot investigate a complaint about events known to Mr X for more than 12 months without good reasons. Mr X knew the Council’s decision in February 2023. He wrote to the Council the following month and suggested it may want to reconsider its decision and that he intended to provide more information.
Mr X did not provide more information. I understand Mr X has concerns about the Council’s arrangements for dealing with complaints about councillors. However, his complaint to the Ombudsman is late and we have seen no good reason why he could not have complained to us much sooner.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there are no good reasons why we should exercise discretion and investigate this late complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman