Summary: Mr X complains the Council will not investigate his complaint that a councillor breached the code of conduct. The Ombudsman will not investigate as the complaint is made too late. We cannot consider allegations of criminal activity and we have not seen fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council refuses to consider his complaint that a councillor lied to the police.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. The Ombudsman cannot investigate allegations of criminal actions. Such complaints are for the Police consider.
5. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. 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

6. I discussed the complaint with Mr X. I also considered the information provided by him and the Council.

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What I found

7. In October 2015 Mr X was involved in an incident in a local pub.
8. In June 2016 Mr X complained to the Council that a councillor, who I shall refer to as Councillor Q, lied in his witness statement to the Police.
9. In October 2016 the Council wrote to Mr X. It said because Councillor Q was not acting in his official capacity as a councillor when the incident occurred, the code of conduct did not apply. Therefore, it would not investigate Mr X’s complaint.
10. In 2019 Mr X complained to the Ombudsman.
11. The law says a person must make a complaint to the Ombudsman within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter. But we may disapply that requirement if there is good reason.
12. In this case, Mr X was aware of the Councils decision not to investigate his complaint in 2016 but did not approach the ombudsman until 3 years later. Therefore, his complaint is late.

13. I have considered whether I should exercise discretion and investigate the complaint despite it being late. However, Mr X alleges Councillor Q lied to the Police in his witness statement. This is a criminal allegation and is a matter for the Police, not the Ombudsman.

14. The Council’s code of conduct states that councillors must follow the code when acting as a councillor. Its arrangements for dealing with complaints that a councillor has breach the coded of conduct states:

“If the complaint fails one or more of the following tests, it will be rejected:

•The complaint is against one or more named Councillors or co-opted Councillors of the Council or a parish council within its district;

•The subject Councillor was in office at the time of the alleged conduct and the Code of Conduct was in force at the time;

•The complaint, if proven, would be a breach of the Code of Conduct under which the subject Councillor was operating at the time of the alleged misconduct.”

15. The Council considered Mr X’s complaint. It decided that Councillor Q was acting as a private individual when the incident that Mr X complained about occurred, not as an elected councillor. Therefore, the code of conduct is not engaged. So the complaint failed the second point and the Council refused to consider it. Having followed the correct procedure this is a decision the Council is entitled to make.

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Final decision

16. I will not exercise discretion to investigate Mr X’s complaint which is late. The allegation of a criminal act is outside our jurisdiction. And we have not seen evidence of fault in the Council’s actions.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman