The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate how the Council dealt with a councillor conduct complaint as the complainant is not caused a level of personal injustice that would justify our further involvement.
The complaint
Mrs X complained to the Council about comments a councillor made on social media which she says called into question the reputation of people she knows and who she holds in high regard. Mrs X is unhappy as she feels the Council has not properly investigated her complaint. Mrs X says this has made her 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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (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.
My assessment
I recognise that Mrs X has strong feelings about what she says took place and is unhappy with the Council’s handling of her complaint. However, we will not investigate as I do not consider that the injustice Mrs X describes is significant enough to justify our further involvement, nor do I consider this is a case which would warrant investigation in the public interest. We have limited resources and must direct them to the most serious cases.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she is not caused a level of injustice from it that would justify our further involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman