Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to investigate a complaint that town councillors breached the code of conduct. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. We are unlikely to find fault in the way the Council considered the complaint. Nor can we achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall Mr P, says the Council failed to properly consider his complaint that town councillors breached the code of conduct.
2. He wants:
• the town councillor to recognise the evidence Mr P provided proved the councillor has disrespected Mr P
• the town councillor to recognise the Town Council’s initial finding on Mr P’s complaint had a negative impact on the likelihood of his complaint to the Town Council receiving proper consideration; and
• the Town Council to remove its prohibitive instructions to staff and Members on their conduct towards him

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants

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

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Complaints about the conduct of parish and town councillors are handled by the Principal Authority, which may be a county, district, unitary or borough council.
7. We may also be able to investigate complaints about the way the Principal Authority has investigated a complaint about parish or town councillors. But we would need to consider what we could ultimately achieve as we could not investigate the actions of the town or parish council itself.
8. The Monitoring Officer has followed the correct procedure. They considered the complaint and evidence provided by Mr P and consulted the Independent Person before deciding the town councillors had not breached the code of conduct.
9. The Ombudsman cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong because the complainant disagrees with it. He must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find fault in the process the Council followed when it considered the complaint about town councillors.
11. We have no jurisdiction over town or parish councils and councillors. Therefore, we cannot achieve the outcomes Mr P is seeking.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman