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

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr D, has complained the Council will not investigate his concerns about the actions of a parish councillor.

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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)
4. We have no jurisdiction to investigate the actions of town or parish councils or their members. In a complaint such as this, about an alleged breach of the Code of Conduct by a parish councillor, we can only look at the way the Council dealt with the complaint about the alleged breach. We cannot look at the substantive complaint itself.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered what Mr D said in his complaint including the Council’s response to his concerns.

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What I found

Background

6. The Council has responsibility for dealing with standards complaints against its own members, and against members of the parish and town councils in its area.
7. The Council’s published arrangements on dealing with standards complaints say its Monitoring Officer considers complaints first. After consultation with an Independent Person, the Monitoring Officer decides whether a complaint merits formal investigation.

Analysis

8. Mr D complained to the Council’s Monitoring Officer that a parish councillor had acted in a way that breached the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.
9. After discussion with the Independent Person, the Monitoring Officer decided the councillor had not breached the Code of Conduct. The Monitoring Officer wrote to Mr D to explain the decision.
10. I have seen no evidence of fault in how the Monitoring Officer made this decision and we do not provide a right of appeal against it.

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Final decision

11. 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