Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about how the Council’s Monitoring Officer considered her complaint about a parish councillor. It is unlikely an investigation would find fault affected the decision there had been no breach of the member Code of Conduct.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complains the Council’s Monitoring Officer did not uphold her complaint that a parish councillor had breached the Code of Conduct for elected members. She says the Monitoring Officer disregarded her concerns that the councillor’s actions may have wrongly influenced a decision by the parish council on a matter in which she has an interest.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’ which we refer to as ‘fault’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), 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 that is likely to have affected the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mrs B which included the Monitoring Officer’s decision on her complaint. I have also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. We do not provide an appeal against the Monitoring Officer’s decision; we can only consider how the Monitoring Officer considered Mrs B’s complaint. Further, it is not our role to investigate or comment on the actions of the councillor she complained about.
6. The Monitoring Officer considered the information Mrs B provided about the actions of the councillor. He also sought the views of the Independent Person before concluding the issues raised by Mrs B did not equate to a breach of the code of conduct.
7. The Monitoring Officer’s investigation was proportionate to the concerns raised. He considered the available evidence and reached a conclusion based on his professional judgement. He also explained his reasons to Mrs B.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council affected its decision not to uphold Mrs B’s complaint about the councillor.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman