Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to issue a decision on a code of conduct complaint against a parish councillor. The Council has now issued its decision, and an investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome. It is also reasonable to allow the Council an opportunity to address the complainant’s associated concerns about the delay in issuing the decision.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council had failed to issue a decision on the code of conduct (CoC) complaint she submitted in October 2023 against a parish councillor, and she has had to spend time and effort on chasing the matter.

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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 can 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. So, we do not start an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation, or
• we are satisfied with the action the Council has taken or proposes to take.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6) & (7), as amended, section 34(B))

4. With regard to the first bullet point above, we can 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)
5. The law also says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6).
6. Finally, the law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
7. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So, where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered:
• information provided by Mrs X and the Council, which included the Council’s decision on the CoC complaint.
• the Council’s ‘Arrangements for dealing with standards allegations’, available on the Council’s website.
• the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. The Council has now issued its decision on the CoC complaint. Other than the time it has taken to reach this point, I see no evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision, so we cannot question the judgement it reached. As an investigation by the Ombudsman will not lead to a different outcome on the CoC complaint itself, we will not pursue this part of the complaint further.
10. The Council has apologised for the delay in determining the CoC complaint and thanked Mrs X for her patience. In response to our enquiries, the Council has also said if Mrs X wishes to complain about the delay in issuing the CoC complaint decision, it would welcome the opportunity to investigate the matter. On balance, and with reference to paragraph 5, I consider it reasonable to allow the Council an opportunity to address this specific issue via its complaints process first.
11. Lastly, if Mrs X has any outstanding concerns about the Council’s handling of her related freedom of information request, then it seems reasonable to expect her to refer the matter to the ICO.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it will not lead to a different outcome on the CoC complaint itself and, on balance, it is reasonable to allow the Council an opportunity to address her specific concerns about the delay in the reaching its decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman