Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s decision not to investigate his complaint that a parish councillor breached the code of conduct. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because we have not seen evidence of fault in the way the Council considered the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to ask him for supporting evidence before deciding not to investigate his complaint that a parish councillor breached the code of conduct.

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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)

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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes:
• Mr X’s original complaint
• The parish councillor’s comments on his complaint
• The code of conduct
• The Council’s arrangements for dealing with complaints about councillors
• The Council response to his complaint

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What I found

5. Under sections 28(6) and (7) of the Localism Act 2011, authorities now must have in place “arrangements” under which allegations that a member or co-opted member of the authority has failed to comply with its code of conduct will be investigated. Arrangements must also be in place setting out how decisions on allegations can be made.
6. It is for the authority to decide the details of its code of conduct and the arrangements for dealing with complaints about member conduct. Complaints about members of parish or town councils are handled by the principal authority.
7. The Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to investigate the actions of parish councils or their members. Where a complaint about a parish council or councillor has been made to the principal authority, we are able only to review how the complaint has been investigated. We cannot look at the substantive complaint itself.
8. In addition, the Ombudsman’s role to review authorities’ adherence to procedure when they make decisions. It is not to replace the authority’s decision with his own. Where the decision has been made according to the correct procedure, having considered the relevant evidence, the Ombudsman cannot generally criticise the decision, no matter how much a person disagrees with it.
9. The Council’s arrangements for dealing with complaints about councillors says:

1. Complaints will usually be assessed within 21 days of receipt.
2. Where a complaint is against a Wychavon Member the Monitoring Officer will decided whether the complaint needs to be investigated, having first consulted with the Committee Chairman (or Vice Chairman), one other District Council Member of the Committee and an Independent person.
3. Where the complaint is against a Parish Member, the Monitoring Officer will decide whether a complaint needs to be investigated. The Committee Chairman (or Vice Chairman) and or one of the Parish representatives on the Committee and/or an Independent Person will be consulted if necessary.
4. Both the accused Member and the complainant will be informed promptly in writing of the outcome of the assessment

10. In February the Council received a complaint from Mr X that a parish councillor had breached the code of conduct. The monitoring officer (MO) also received a call from the parish councillor involved. The councillor told the MO she was unwell and due to go into hospital. But she would like to comment on the complaint.
11. The MO spoke to the chairman of the member conduct committee (the committee). They agreed to extend the timescale for dealing with the complaint because of the impending hospital stay. A few weeks later the councillor told the MO that she had been hospitalised for some weeks but was now home, but not completely recovered. She provided her medical certificates. The MO again discussed the matter with the committee chairman before agreeing to extend the timeframe again.

12. In May the MO received the councillor’s comments on Mr X’s complaint. The MO has confirmed she considered the information provided by Mr X and the parish councillor. She also consulted the chairman of the committee. Having reviewed the information, she decided not to investigate Mr X’s complaint.
13. She wrote to him explaining that she considered his complaints comprised:
• concerns were about actions made by the Councillor when she was not acting as a parish councillor.
• His personal opinions rather than facts
• Incidents where the councillor had explained the matter, apologised to Mr X’s wife who had not pursued the matter at the time
• Issues raised which did not warrant investigation
14. Mr X was not satisfied with the outcome of his complaint and complained to the Ombudsman.

Assessment

15. As previously explained, the Ombudsman does not offer a right of appeal against a council’s decision on member complaints. We can only consider if there was fault in the way the Council considered the complaint. And we consider whether we could achieve as we cannot investigate the actions of the parish councillor involved.
16. I understand Mr X is aggrieved that the MO did not seek further information from him which he says supports his complaint. However, having reviewed the Council’s procedures for dealing with member complaints, there is no obligation for it to do so. The MO considered Mr X’s detailed complaint, sought the parish councillor’s comments on the complaint and consulted the chairman of the committee before making her decision.

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Final decision

17. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because we have not seen any evidence of fault in the way the Council considered his complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman