Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about what happened when the complainant visited the Council’s offices. He could not achieve any worthwhile outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Ms B, has complained about the behaviour of a Council officer when she visited its offices about a council tax support application. She says the officer was rude to her and made public remarks about her financial situation. Ms B would like the Council to dismiss the officer.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe:

• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome; or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered what Ms B said in her complaint. Ms B commented on a draft before I made this decision.

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What I found

4. The Council says there is no record, such as CCTV footage, of what happened when Ms B visited its offices. As I was not a witness to this, I cannot reach any independent conclusion about what happened.
5. Further, even if we could decide there was fault by the Council, we could not recommend disciplinary action; that would be a matter for the Council to decide.

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Final decision

6. I have decided we will not investigate this complaint because we cannot achieve any worthwhile outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman