Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate how the Council dealt with the complainant’s allegations of financial fraud by a councillor. Any injustice would affect all or most of the residents of the Council’s area.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr B, has complained about how the Council dealt with his allegations against a councillor. He says the Council will not deal with his concerns that the councillor claimed expenses fraudulently.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. It says we cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’.
4. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered what Mr B said in his complaint.

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What I found

6. Mr B says a councillor claimed expenses to which he was not entitled. He describes this as a loss to the public purse.

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Final decision

7. I have decided we cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mr B is complaining about an alleged financial loss affecting all or most of the residents of the Council’s area. He is not complaining some fault by the Council has caused him personal injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman