Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s investigation of a complaint about a councillor’s conduct. It is unlikely we would find fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I have called Mrs Q, complained that Sheffield City Council did not properly investigate her complaint about the behaviour of one of its councillors. She said the Councillor was aggressive and intimidating, particularly towards women.

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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 Mrs Q provided. I considered the information the Council provided. And I considered Mrs Q’s response to a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Background

5. The Council has a Code of Conduct which applies to Members (ie councillors) when they act in their role as a Member. They are expected to comply with the provisions of the Code.
6. The Council has a procedure for dealing with complaints about Members. It says:

The Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Independent Person, will consider (a) the complaint, any remedy sought by the complainant, any written statement of fact submitted by the Member and any other information obtained, (b) whether the Member was acting in their official capacity and that the code of Conduct does apply and (c) if the allegation constitutes a potential breach of the Code of Conduct and then take one of the following courses of action:-

• take no action or
• take other action through informal resolution or
• refer the matter for investigation
• refer the matter to the Consideration Sub-Committee.

Key facts

7. Mrs Q and her family live near a community centre. There are problems with parking in the area. A councillor is a trustee at the Community Centre.
8. Mrs Q complained to the Council about the Councillor’s behaviour towards her and her family regarding parking outside the Community Centre. She said he was aggressive and intimidating, particularly towards women.
9. The Monitoring Officer invited the Councillor to comment on the complaint. He denied the allegations made against him and said he was the victim of an ongoing dispute between Mrs Q’s family and the Community Centre.
10. The Monitoring Officer consulted with the Independent Person and then wrote to Mrs Q with her findings. She said the Council had decided to take no action against the Councillor. She explained that Mrs Q had complained about the Councillor’s actions when he was acting as a Trustee of the Community Centre, not as a councillor doing Council business. The Monitoring Officer also said she did not think the Councillor had breached the Members’ Code of Conduct.
11. In response to a draft of this decision, Mrs Q said she believed the Councillor had breached the Members’ Code of Conduct. And she said the Councillor had not commented on the specific allegation she made about him.

Analysis

12. We will not investigate this complaint.
13. The Monitoring Officer considered Mrs Q’s complaint, asked the Councillor for his comments on it, considered whether there was a breach of the Code of Conduct, and consulted the Independent Person before deciding to take no further action.
14. I recognise that Mrs Q is dissatisfied with the Council’s investigation and its decision. However, the Monitoring Officer followed the correct procedure before deciding the Councillor was not acting in his capacity as a Member of the Council when he acted in the way Mrs Q alleged. So we are unlikely to find fault with the Council’s decision not to take action against the Councillor.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mrs Q’s complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman