Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with concerns about the behaviour of a local councillor. This is because we are unlikely to find fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, has complained about the behaviour of a local councillor in relation to problems she was having with her landlord. Mrs X says the councillor took the side of her landlord without checking the facts and failed to talk to her to discuss her concerns. Mrs X says the matter has had a significant impact on her wellbeing.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

5. Local Authorities have a duty to designate a Monitoring Officer to ensure the lawfulness and fairness of authority decision making. The Monitoring Officer must ensure that the authority, its officers and members maintain the highest standards of conduct.
6. Each council has different rules for dealing with complaints about code of conduct breaches. In this case, the Monitoring Officer will consider the complaint and decide if further action is needed. If the Monitoring Officer decides not to take further action they will write to the complainant and give reasons for their decision.
7. The Ombudsman does not offer a right of appeal against a council’s decision on member conduct complaints. Instead, we consider if there was any fault with how the complaint was considered. Where a decision has been made in line with the correct procedure, taking account of the relevant evidence, the Ombudsman will generally not criticise the decision, even if the complainant does not agree with it.
8. In this case, I am satisfied the Monitoring Officer dealt with the matter in line with the Council’s rules for code of conduct complaints before deciding not to take further action as it was unlikely they would find the member code of conduct had been breached. Therefore, it is unlikely I could find fault.

Back to top

Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find fault by the Council.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman