Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s refusal to investigate the complaint he made about a councillor. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council in its consideration of the matter.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, says the Council is wrong not to investigate the complaint he made against a councillor’s breach of the Members Code of Conduct and his suitability for office.

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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
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, 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, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. In considering the complaint I spoke to Mr X and reviewed the information he and the Council provided. I gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

4. Mr X complained to the Council about a councillor’s suitability to stand as a candidate in local elections. The Council’s Monitoring Officer responded to Mr X by explaining that the Electoral Commission’s guidance on the matter did not show that the councillor fell within any of the disqualifications and so there was no reason to reject his nomination.
5. Dissatisfied with this response, Mr X continued his complaint and raised queries about the councillor’s integrity and trustworthiness. The Council passed the matter to its independent counter fraud team who made inquiries which led to an email being sent to Mr X which explained that the matters he had raised could not be considered under the code of conduct and did not relate to the councillor’s role as a councillor. However, it advised that it would review matters at any time if the situation changed and if Mr X had any new information.

Assessment

6. The Council considered the concerns Mr X presented but found no grounds to suggest the councillor could be disqualified from standing for election or, that as matters currently stand, he has breached the Members Code of Conduct.
7. While I understand Mr X is frustrated by this decision, there is no evidence of fault by the Council. It properly considered Mr X’s concerns, investigated and confirmed it will assess any new information.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council in its consideration of the matter.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman