Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate how the Council decided not to pursue a complaint about the conduct of councillors. It is unlikely he would find evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs C, has complained the Council will not investigate her concerns about the actions of councillors relating to a planning application.

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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 may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), 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 have considered what Mrs C said in her complaint. The Council also provided background information which included the Council’s response to her concerns. Mrs C commented on a draft before I made this decision.

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What I found

5. Mrs C complained to the Council’s Monitoring Officer that councillors had acted in a way that breached the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. In summary, she says the councillors had acted improperly in relation to a planning application she had submitted.
6. The Monitoring Officer decided the Code of Conduct did not apply to the actions Mrs C complained about. This was because the complaint should have been made within 28 days of the actions complained about.
7. The Monitoring Officer considered Mrs C’s reasons for not complaining sooner but was not persuaded there were grounds to investigate. While I understand Mrs C disagrees with it, I have seen no evidence of fault in how the Monitoring Officer made this decision.

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Final decision

8. I have decided we will not investigate this complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman