Summary: Mr X complains the Council has not investigated his complaint about the conduct of one of its councillors when acting in their position as a clerk to a parish council. The Ombudsman will not investigate as there is no indication of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains the Council has not investigated his complaint about the actions of one of its councillors.

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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 must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint and his comments made in response to my draft decision.

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What I found

4. Mr X complained to the Council about the conduct of one of its members, whilst acting as the clerk to a parish council. Mr X considers the clerk has abused their authority.
5. The Council considered Mr X’s complaint but will take no further action. In the Councils view, the councillor was acting in a private capacity, not on behalf of the Council, and so the code of conduct does not apply.

Analysis

6. There is no indication of fault in the way the Council considered Mr X’s complaint. The Council’s code of conduct does not apply when a councillor is acting in a private capacity.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate as there is no indication of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman