Somerset West and Taunton Council (21 011 092)
Category : Other Categories > Councillor conduct and standards
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Feb 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a Code of Conduct complaint made against a councillor. This is because the Council has now responded to Mr X’s complaint and amended its processes, and an investigation would achieve no useful outcome.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, complained the Council had not responded to the Member Code of Conduct complaint he made against a local councillor.
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 effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complained to the Council about the actions of a local councillor. There was significant delay by the Council before it responded to the complaint.
- The Council apologised to Mr X for the length of time it had taken to respond and it explained why Mr X’s initial complaint had been missed. In acknowledging that it had provided a poor service, the Council said it had reviewed its processes to ensure the same problem would not happen again and had trained additional staff to pick up Code of Conduct complaints.
- While the length of time taken to respond to the complaint is noted, an investigation by the Ombudsman would achieve no useful outcome. The Council has now responded and has set out how it will be proceeding with the matter.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has now responded to his complaint and amended its processes, and an investigation would achieve no useful outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman