Summary: Mr X complains the Council refuses to enforce its decision that a Councillor should apologise to him. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. We have not seen any evidence of fault in the Council’s actions. Nor can we achieve the outcome Mr X is seeking.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council refuses to enforce its decision that a councillor should apologise to him. He wants the councillor sacked as he considers she should not be allowed to finish her term of office.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.
   (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered:
• the information provided by Mr X in his complaint form
• The Council’s arrangements for dealing with complaints about councillors
• The Council’s decision on Mr X’s complaint and its correspondence with him.

Mr X had the opportunity to comment on the draft version of this decision.

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What I found

5. The Localism Act 2011 says councils must have a Code of Conduct for elected Councillors. They must also have a process in place to consider allegations that a Councillor has not complied with the Code.
6. Cornwall Council has a process or procedure for dealing with complaints made about elected and co-opted members (the process).
7. Mr X complained a councillor had publicly insulted him.
8. The Council considered the complaint according to its arrangements for dealing with complaints about councillors.
9. It found the Councillor had breached the code of conduct and decided she should apologise to Mr X within 28 days of the date of its decision.
10. The Councillor failed to apologise. Mr X complained to the Council. It confirmed that it had no lawful authority to force the Councillor to comply with its decision. It told Mr X he could make a new complaint because the Councillor had further breached the code by refusing to apologise to him.
11. Mr X has not made a new complaint against the Councillor.

Assessment

12. I understand Mr X’s concerns about the Councillor’s refusal to comply with the Council’s decision. He says the Council should remove the Councillor and hold a by-election. However, it is unlawful for an elected Councillor to be removed unless:
• s/he is in the paid employment of the authority; and
• is convicted of an appropriately serious criminal offence (the categories of which are in the Localism Act).
13. As the Councillor does not fall into either category, the Council cannot remove her from office.

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Final decision

14. I will not investigate this complaint because we have not seen any evidence of fault in the Council’s actions. And we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X is seeking.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman