Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. We have not seen evidence of fault in the way the Council dealt with his complaint that a councillor breached the code of conduct.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to follow the correct procedure when considering his complaint about a councillor. He says the Monitoring Officer failed to assess the complaint with an Independent Person and the overwhelming evidence provided by Mr X was ignored. He says a junior solicitor dealt with the complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by Mr X and the Council. I also considered the Council’s arrangements for dealing with complaints about councillors. Mr X had the opportunity to comment on the draft version of this decision.

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What I found

4. Mr X complained that a Councillor has waged a vendetta against his pub business following one single complaint about children's noise from the garden. He says the complainant is a friend of the Councillor.
5. The Council’s arrangements for dealing with complaints about councillors says:

“The Monitoring Officer will review every complaint received and, after consultation with the Independent Person, take a decision as to whether it merits formal investigation. This decision will normally be taken within 14 days of receipt of a complaint. The Monitoring Officer will inform the complainant of his/her decision and the reasons for that decision.”

6. The Council confirms the Deputy Monitoring Officer (DMO), completed a fact-finding report on Mr X’s complaint.
7. The Monitoring Officer (MO) considered the complaint and the findings of the DMO. They then consulted the Independent Person.
8. The DMO wrote to Mr X confirming the Council would not be investigating his complaint as there was no evidence of a breach of the code of conduct.

Assessment

9. 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. We will only investigate complaints if there is sufficient injustice to warrant our involvement or we consider it in the public interest to do so.
10. In this case the DMO obtained the facts of the complaint and prepared a report for the MO. The MO considered Mr X’s complaint and consulted the Independent Person before deciding the councillor had not breached the code of conduct. This is the correct procedure, and the Council is entitled to make this decision. The Ombudsman cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong because the complainant disagrees with it. She must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached.

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Final decision

11. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. I am unlikely to find fault in the way the Council dealt with his complaint that a councillor had breached the code of conduct.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman