Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (25 009 457)
Category : Other Categories > Councillor conduct and standards
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 01 Oct 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a councillor conduct complaint as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.
The complaint
- Mrs X complained to the Council about comments a councillor made on social media. Mrs X is unhappy with the Council’s response to her complaint which she says made her feel unseen.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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))
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council assessed Mrs X’s complaint but took no further action on it as in its view, the councillor was not acting in their official capacity when making the comments but as a member of the public. The Council’s procedure for dealing with councillor conduct complaints states that in such circumstances, complaints will not be taken forward.
- I recognise Mrs X is unhappy with this but it is unlikely we will find fault with how the Council assessed the matter and as such, we cannot criticise the merits of its decision, as per paragraph three. We will not therefore investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman