Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about councillor involvement in development proposals connected to public funds which Mrs X says the Council dishonestly obtained. This is because the complaint is made late to us and there are not good reasons to investigate now, the injustice impacts all or most of the people in the Council's area, and so is not within our remit, and the Council’s appointed auditor is better placed than us to investigate.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has dishonestly obtained public funding for proposals which do not meet funding objectives and has held unfair consultations and pre-determined planning decisions about various proposals. Mrs X complains the public has been mis-led and that there is no system in place for it to review proposals or to prevent what is happening. Mrs X made specific complaints to the Council in 2020 about councillor involvement in these issues and says the Council has failed to respond.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. 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 another body better placed to consider this complaint (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mrs X complained to the Council in 2020 and complained to us in May 2023. Mrs X’s complaint to us is therefore made late as she has not brought the matter to us within 12 months of her knowing about the problem.
9. While I note what Mrs X says about the Council not having provided responses, I do not consider this is a good reason for us to investigate now. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to have complained to us sooner, even in the absence of responses from the Council. Our website explains that while a council must be given a reasonable time to respond to a complaint, if there is delay, a complainant can bring the complaint to us.
10. The injustice at the heart of Mrs X’s complaint, as described by Mrs X, affects the general public in the Council's area. The law says we cannot investigate complaints that impact all or most of the people in a council's area. I do not consider therefore, that Mrs X’s broader complaint is within our legal remit, or that we can deal with any associated matters.
11. Mrs X is essentially alleging that the council has misappropriated and is misusing public funds and these allegations are best dealt with by the appointed auditor for the Council, as indicated on the Government's website for the National Audit Office.
12. For these reasons we will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is made late, it impacts all or most of the people in the Council’s area and is essentially best dealt with by the Council’s appointed auditor.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman