Summary: The Ombudsman does not intend to investigate this complaint that the Council did not properly investigate a complaint that a Councillor had breached its Members’ Code of Conduct. We are unlikely to find fault in the way the Council considered the complaint. Nor can we consider statements made to the court. And we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call her Ms X, says the Council has failed to consider her complaint that a Councillor breached the code of contract.
2. Ms X wants the Councillor sacked or suspended until she stands down.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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’. 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
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6), as amended)

4. 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)
5. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the information provided by Ms X. I also considered copies of her complaints to the Council and its responses.
7. Ms X commented on the draft version of this decision.

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What I found

8. In 2019 a judge issued an injunction against Ms X. She says this was based on false information provided in a Councillor’s statement to the court. Ms X has appealed against the injunction. The court has not yet considered the matter.
9. Ms X complained to the Council that the Councillor had breached the code of conduct by making an untrue statement to the court. She said the Councillor told the court that some years ago Ms X was a member of a resident’s association and she had been asked to resign.
10. At first, the Council told Ms X it would have to wait until the court considered her appeal before it would look her at her complaint.
11. However, Ms X repeatedly contacted the Council with information. She provided a statement from the chairman of the resident’s association referred to in the Councillor’s statement.
12. The Council’s Monitoring Officer (MO) considered the statement made by the Councillor to the court. In it the Councillor refers to Ms X making endless complaints about her neighbours which have caused distress to her neighbours. The Councillor also says she recalls Ms X from years ago when she was on a resident’s association; before she was elected to the Council. She says Ms X caused so much trouble she was asked to resign from the resident’s association.
13. The MO says he considered the statement from the chairman of the resident’s association which says Ms X has never been a member of the association.
14. In accordance with the Council’s procedures for dealing with complaints about councillors, the MO asked the Councillor to respond to Ms X’s complaint.
15. He says the Councillor advised that when she made her statement, she recalled Ms X being a member of the association. If this is not the case, the Councillor confirmed she is willing to be corrected.
16. The MO considered Ms X’s complaint. He sought the opinion of the Council’s Independent Person. He then decided Ms X’s complaint does not show a failure by the Councillor to breach the code of conduct. This was because the statement about Ms X’s alleged membership of the resident’s association also included other matters which Ms X does not dispute. And it was made within the context of a court injunction. Therefore, the MO considered Ms X’s complaint is invalid under the code of conduct procedure.

Assessment

17. The Councils procedure for dealing with complaints about councillors says:

“The Monitoring Officer will consider the complaint and make a decision as to whether it will be treated as a valid complaint or not.”

And

“In any case where the Monitoring Officer decides that the complaint is ‘invalid’, they will write to the complainant explaining why their complaint cannot be dealt with under this procedure. There is no appeal process for decisions taken by the Monitoring Officer at this stage.”

18. 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.
19. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because a complainant disagrees with it. Our role is to consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached, and whether any fault affected the outcome.
20. The Council’s complaints process for dealing with complaints about Members’ conduct says the MO considers the complaints and will ask the Councillor in question for comments.
21. The MO may consult a designated Independent Person before reaching a decision. A formal investigation will only be carried out if the MO and Independent Person consider it is possible there has been a significant breach of the Code.
22. The evidence I have seen indicates the MO considered the information Ms X provided and the Councillor’s comments in response. The MO also consulted with the Independent Person before he made his decision that the Councillor had not breached the code of conduct.
23. I consider the MO’s decision letter to Ms X provides a reasoned explanation of the decision reached.
24. In the circumstances, I see no sign of fault in the process the Council followed in deciding Ms X’s complaint and, therefore have no grounds to question the merits of that decision.
25. I understand Ms X wants to complain about the actions of the Councillor, however this is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. Nor can we consider matters that have been considered by the court. This includes what was said in court and statements or reports prepared for court.
26. Also, I understand Ms X wants the Councillor sacked, or suspended until she stands down. The Ombudsman cannot achieve this for her.

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Final decision

27. Subject to any comments Ms X might make, my view is the Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. I have seen no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered her complaint that a Councillor breached the code of conduct. Nor can we consider statements made to court and we cannot achieve the outcome Ms X is seeking.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman