Maldon District Council (19 017 116)

Category : Other Categories > Councillor conduct and standards

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 02 Mar 2020

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council’s failure to address complaints he has made against a local councillor. This is because the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr B, says the Council is at fault for failing to investigate complaints he has made about a local district councillor whose actions negatively affected him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
  2. We can only accept complaints from members of the public or their authorised representatives. This means we cannot accept complaints from councillors complaining about something relating to their position as a councillor. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Mr B and gave him the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

  1. Mr B has acted as a parish councillor. He complained to the Council about its failure to investigate complaints he made about the behaviour of a local district councillor. He says the councillor’s actions negatively affected him
  2. Under the Local Government Act 1974, as amended, we can only accept complaints made by members of the public. Where a complaint is made by a complainant whose claimed injustice relates to their position as a councillor, the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction and cannot be pursued.

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Final decision

  1. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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