West Sussex County Council (20 008 882)
Category : Other Categories > Councillor conduct and standards
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Jan 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate the Council’s refusal to consider the complainant’s concerns about the conduct of a school governor.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr B, has complained the Council will not investigate his concerns about the conduct of a school governor.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate complaints about the internal organisation, management or discipline of any school or other educational establishment maintained by the Council; we have no discretion in this. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(b), as amended)
- The Courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Mr B said in his complaint and background information provided by the Council.
Final decision
- I have decided we cannot investigate this complaint for the reasons given in paragraphs 3 and 4. The actions of the school governor are not within our jurisdiction and we cannot investigate the Council’s actions about them.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman