Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a complaint about a parish council as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council and the substantive matter is not within our legal remit.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has not properly dealt with her complaint that a parish council sent her a letter which Mrs X says caused her distress.

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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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as parish councils. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34(1), as amended)
4. The courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by an organisation concerning a matter which the law says we cannot investigate. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. The Council considered Mrs X’s complaint and explained that its standards regime is limited to dealing with complaints about individual parish councillor conduct not the decisions of a parish council itself.
8. I recognise Mrs X is dissatisfied with the Council’s decision, but there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council in it saying this. A parish council is an independent corporate body, and their actions do not fall to be scrutinised by other councils.
9. In addition, as per paragraph three, parish councils are not bodies within our jurisdiction which means we could not investigate the substantive complaint nor would we be likely to investigate any matter closely related to it.
10. For these reasons, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council and the substantive matter, the complaint about the parish council, is not within our remit.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman