North Lincolnshire Council (21 008 819)
Category : Other Categories > Councillor conduct and standards
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 22 Nov 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate how the Council considered a complaint about the conduct of a councillor. It is unlikely an investigation would find fault affected the Council’s decision to take no further action.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr X complains, the Council decided to take no further action on his complaint that a councillor had breached the Code of Conduct for elected members.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X which included the Council’s decision on his complaint. I have also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We do not provide an appeal against the Monitoring Officer’s decision; we can only consider how the Council considered Mr X’s complaint. Further, it is not our role to investigate or comment on the actions of the councillor Mr X complained about.
- The Monitoring Officer considered the information Mr X provided about the actions of the councillor. He also sought the views of the Independent Person. The matter was considered by a panel of elected members before the Council decided not to take further action.
- 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 Mr X.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. While I recognise Mr X disagrees with the Council, it is unlikely we would find fault affected its decision to take no further action on his complaint about the councillor.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman