The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decisions on Code of Conduct complaints Mr X made against two councillors. This is because there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of Code of Conduct complaints he made about the behaviour of two councillors involved in considering a planning application for development which he objected to. He wants the decision made to grant permission for the development to be reversed.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’ which we call ‘fault. 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) 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, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant, including the Council’s response to his complaints against the councillors.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We do not offer a right of appeal against council decisions on member conduct complaints but we can consider if there was fault in the way the council considered the complaint.
We cannot question council decisions if they have followed the right steps and considered the relevant evidence and information. While Mr X may be disappointed with the decisions taken by the Monitoring Officer, having consulted with the Independent Person, that there had been no breach of the Code, there is no evidence to suggest fault affected them.
Moreover, as an outcome to his complaint, Mr X seeks the reversal of the decision to grant planning permission. However, neither a complaint to the Council or the Ombudsman could achieve such an outcome.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman