Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (19 007 138)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Councillor conduct and standards 15-Oct-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate how the Council dealt with complaints about the conduct of a councillor. It is unlikely he would find evidence of fault by the Council. The Information Commissioner is best placed to deal with a complaint about a breach of data protection legislation.

Hyndburn Borough Council (19 007 594)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Councillor conduct and standards 14-Oct-2019

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to take appropriate action against two councillors whom he says made inappropriate comments about his wife on social media. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

North Norfolk District Council (19 007 906)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Councillor conduct and standards 11-Oct-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to properly consider a code of conduct complaint against a town councillor. This is because the personal injustice arising from the alleged fault by the Council is not significant enough to justify the Ombudsman’s continued involvement.

Waverley Borough Council (19 007 352)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Councillor conduct and standards 30-Sep-2019

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s decision not to take action over the conduct of a parish councillor. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council which would warrant an investigation.

Arun District Council (19 003 454)

Statement Upheld Councillor conduct and standards 20-Sep-2019

Summary: Mr and Mrs B complain the Council did not investigate their complaint about a Councillor. They say the Councillor was rude and interrupted Mrs B when she gave her objection during a planning committee meeting. The Ombudsman finds fault in how the Council considered whether to investigate.

Daventry District Council (19 001 122)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Councillor conduct and standards 11-Sep-2019

Summary: Mr X complained the Council should investigate a Parish Councillor who failed to disclose a pecuniary interest at a Council meeting. I have discontinued my investigation. This is because the Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints which concern events that took place in a Parish Council as this is outside our jurisdiction.

Broxtowe Borough Council (18 004 023)

Statement Upheld Councillor conduct and standards 03-Sep-2019

Summary: The Council failed to properly investigate Mr B’s complaint about three councillors and significantly delayed providing its response to the complaint. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mr B and take action to prevent similar failings in future.

Wakefield City Council (19 003 949)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Councillor conduct and standards 02-Sep-2019

Summary: Mr B complains about the way the Council dealt with his complaint against a local councillor. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint as there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Mr B to warrant an investigation.

Forest of Dean District Council (19 004 739)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Councillor conduct and standards 02-Sep-2019

Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s refusal to investigate the complaint he made about a councillor. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council in its consideration of the matter.

Wychavon District Council (19 005 463)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Councillor conduct and standards 30-Aug-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the District Council’s consideration of the complainant’s code of conduct complaint against the Chairman and Clerk of a Parish. This is because the Ombudsman cannot consider complaints about the actions of a Parish Council, the alleged administrative fault by the District Council is unlikely to have affected its decision on the code of conduct complaint, and our continued involvement is unlikely to achieve any worthwhile outcome.