Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s decision not to take any action on his complaint that a councillor breached the code of conduct. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint as we have not seen any evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council refuses to take any action on his complaint that a councillor breached the coded of conduct. He wants his complaint referred to the Council’s Standards Committee.

Back to top

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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by Mr X, including the Council’s response to his complaint. I also considered the Council’s arrangements for dealing with complaints about councillors.
4. Mr X had the opportunity to comment on the draft version of this decision.

Back to top

What I found

5. The Council has a Code of Conduct (“the Code”) for Councillors, which is published on its website. It also has a policy for how it deals with complaints against Councillors, called the ‘Complaints against a councillor procedure’ (“the Procedure”). This sets out when it will investigate complaints and how.
6. At paragraph 4.1 of the Procedure it says:

The Monitoring Officer will review every complaint received and will consult with one of the Independent Persons before taking one of the following decisions:

• No further action
• Merits early information conciliation
• Should be referred to the Standards Committee to consider whether the complaint merits further investigation.
1. At paragraph 13 of the Procedure it says:

There is no right of appeal for you as complainant of for the member against a decision of the Monitoring Officer or Standards Committee.

8. Mr X is an elected councillor. He complained to the Council that another councillor had breached the code of conduct. He complained the councillor posted a ‘tweet’ on twitter in which he wrongly identified Mr X as the author of a letter published in the local paper. The tweet also accused Mr X of making false statements and disrespecting his constituents.
9. The Monitoring Officer reviewed the complaint. He considered there is a high threshold on exchanges between elected councillors. And the action Mr X complains did not amount to a breach of the code.
10. The Monitoring Officer says he consulted an Independent Person who agreed with his view. He wrote to Mr X advising the Council will not take his complaint any further.

Assessment

11. The Ombudsman does not offer a right of appeal against a council’s decision on member conduct complaints, but we can consider if there was fault in the way the council considered the complaint.
12. Having reviewed the Council’s procedure for dealing with complaints about councillors, I consider the Council has followed the process correctly. I understand Mr X disagrees with the decision and wants the matter referred to the Standards Committee. However, where there is no administrative fault, the Ombudsman cannot criticise a decision properly made.

Back to top

Final decision

13. I will not investigate this complaint because we have not seen any fault in the way the Council made its decision.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman