Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with his complaint about a councillor. There is not evidence of fault or personal injustice to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to properly investigate his complaint about a councillor.
2. Mr X says that he has been discriminated against and disrespected by the Councillor and the Council has failed to accept this.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. We previously investigated a complaint by Mr X who complained that material he was handing out at a meeting on behalf of a third party was confiscated by a Council officer causing him to feel intimidated and discriminated against because of beliefs he holds.
8. We decided we would not investigate because Mr X’s own personal injustice is limited and insufficient to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman as the material did not concern a matter that directly impacted him.
9. We will also not investigate Mr X’s subsequent complaint to the Council’s monitoring officer about the actions of a councillor who was present. In addition to the fact that Mr X’s own personal injustice is insufficient to warrant an investigation, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. Mr X and the Council have differing views on events. However, it is not the role of the Ombudsman to decide who is right. Our role is to consider whether there is any evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision. In this case, the Council listened to Mr X’s concerns, consulted with the Independent Person, concluded there had been no breach of the Code of Conduct and explained why. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council made this decision and, therefore, we cannot question the decision itself.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient personal injustice and evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman