Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a complaint about the conduct of a councillor. This is because the complainant has not suffered any significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X has complained about how the Council dealt with his complaint about the conduct of a councillor. Mr X says there were significant delays before his complaint was considered by the Standards Committee and he has had to continuously chase the Council for updates. Mr X says the delays have added to the distress he has experienced because of the Councillor’s conduct.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. 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. Each council has different rules for dealing with complaints about code of conduct breaches.
5. In this case, the Monitoring Officer considered Mr X’s concerns and an investigation report was completed. The report recommended the matter be referred to the Council’s Standards Committee. After considering the complaint, the Standards Committee agreed the councillor’s actions breached the code of conduct and recommended sanctions be imposed.
6. Mr X is unhappy with how the Council dealt with his complaint and says there were significant delays before the matter was considered by the Standards Committee. I agree there was a delay by the Council. I understand this would have been frustrating for Mr X and he would have been put to time and trouble chasing the Council for updates. However, I do not consider the injustice suffered as a result serious enough to warrant our involvement.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has not suffered any significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman