Summary: Mr B complains about the Council’s handling of his complaint against a councillor who he says breached the Members Code of Conduct. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council dealt with the matter.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr B, complains about the Council’s decision not to investigate his complaint against a councillor. He says statements made by the councillor defamed him and the Council should investigate.

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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:

• 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

4. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Mr B and the Council’s response to his complaint. I gave Mr B the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered what he said.

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What I found

5. Mr B made a complaint to the Council about what he saw as a breach of the Members Code of Conduct by a councillor who he says made inaccurate comments about him at a Council meeting.
6. In accordance with normal procedures the Council’s Monitoring Officer considered his complaint and sought the views of the Independent Person. Having done so the Monitoring Officer decided to reject the complaint and provided Mr B with the reasons for the decision.

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Assessment

7. The Ombudsman does not offer a right of appeal against council decisions on member conduct. We can consider whether there was fault in the way a council considered the complaint. However, I have seen no evidence to suggest there has been fault by the Council in its handling of this complaint.
8. Mr B disagrees with the Council’s decision not to investigate his complaint but it is not our role to review the merits of decisions properly taken by councils no matter how strongly a complainant may disagree with them.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council dealt with the matter.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman