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

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the Council not upholding his complaint about a councillor whom he says breached the members’ Code of Conduct by failing to represent the views of the village residents where he lives.

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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, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response and Mr X has commented on the draft response.

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What I found

4. Mr X complained to the Council about a county councillor not representing the views of his village to the Council over a traffic scheme. He says the villagers presented a petition and the councillor failed to keep them informed about the highway authority’s response to his contact with it. Mr X feels the councillor has a duty to represent the interests of the residents to the Council rather than accept the views of the officers and executive.
5. The Council’s Monitoring Officer responded to Mr X’s complaint and told him that there was no breach of the Code. The councillor passed the complaint to the relevant Council department, but he had no obligation to pursue the villagers’ cause. Councillors cannot represent all of the views of their constituents and as politicians they may express their own interest or opinions of issues in their area.
6. There was no breach of the Code which the Council could take action on and so the Monitoring Officer closed the complaint. The issues which Mr X raised in his complaint were not evidence of a breach of the Code and the Ombudsman can only consider the actions of the Monitoring Officer in such matters.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman