Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate how the Council dealt with a complaint about a parish councillor. It is unlikely he would find fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr B, has complained about how the Council dealt with his concerns about the conduct of a parish councillor.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached that is likely to have affected the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered what Mr B said in his complaint and information on the Council’s website. Mr B commented on a draft before I made this decision.

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What I found

5. The Ombudsman cannot consider complaints about parish councils or the actions of parish councillors.
6. The Council can consider a complaint that a parish councillor has breached the Code of Conduct for councillors. The Ombudsman can consider a complaint about how the Council has dealt with the complaint but does not consider the merits of the Council’s decision.
7. Parish councils can submit comments to a local planning authority on a planning application but play no direct part in deciding whether to grant planning permission.

Summary of complaint

8. Mr B complained to the Council that a parish councillor had not declared an interest in a planning application and had attended the parish council meeting that discussed the application.

Analysis

9. The Council considered Mr B’s complaint but decided the parish councillor’s actions were not a breach of the Code of Conduct. The Council published a notice which set out the reasons for its decisions.
10. I recognise Mr B disagrees with the Council’s decision and, in particular, considers it applied the wrong burden of proof. However, I consider it followed the correct process when considering the matter and was entitled to decide there had been no breach of the Code.

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Final decision

11. I have decided we will not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find fault in how the Council decided there had been no breach of the Code of Conduct. In the absence of fault, we cannot question the merits of the Council’s decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman