Maldon District Council (19 017 116)
Category : Other Categories > Councillor conduct and standards
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 02 Mar 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council’s failure to address complaints he has made against a local councillor. This is because the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to as Mr B, says the Council is at fault for failing to investigate complaints he has made about a local district councillor whose actions negatively affected him.
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 can only accept complaints from members of the public or their authorised representatives. This means we cannot accept complaints from councillors complaining about something relating to their position as a councillor. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Mr B and gave him the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.
What I found
- Mr B has acted as a parish councillor. He complained to the Council about its failure to investigate complaints he made about the behaviour of a local district councillor. He says the councillor’s actions negatively affected him
- Under the Local Government Act 1974, as amended, we can only accept complaints made by members of the public. Where a complaint is made by a complainant whose claimed injustice relates to their position as a councillor, the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction and cannot be pursued.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman