Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about standards committees because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement and there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained the Council failed to properly investigate his complaint about two Councillors’ details on its register of interests which Mr Y says are incorrect.
2. Mr Y says he feels he has lost trust and confidence in the Council’s abilities.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered a serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
6. While Mr Y may feel strongly about the matter, he has not suffered a serious harm as a result of any fault. Further, even if we were to investigate, find fault and recommend the Council reconsider the substantive issue, the changes Mr Y says need to be made on the register, which is what he is seeking as an outcome to his substantive complaint to the monitoring officer, would be to correct typographical errors and would not be a worthwhile outcome to be achieved. Consequently, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement and there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman