Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council handled his Code of Conduct complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about how the Council handled his Code of Conduct complaint. He wants the Ombudsman to find fault, and he wants the Council to improve its processes.

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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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Local authorities have a duty to designate a Monitoring Officer to ensure the lawfulness and fairness of authority decision making. The Monitoring Officer must ensure the authority, its officers and members maintain the highest standards of conduct. Each council has different rules for dealing with complaints about Code of Conduct breaches.
6. Mr X said the Council did not follow procedures when considering his complaint about another Councillor. Mr X also complained about delay. The Council has apologised to Mr X for the short delay in responding to his complaint.
7. The Ombudsman does not provide an appeal against the Monitoring Officer’s decisions. We are also unable to investigate or comment on the actions of the Councillor complained about. Where a decision has been made in line with the correct procedure, taking account of the relevant evidence, the Ombudsman will generally not criticise the decision, even if Mr X does not agree with it.
8. In this case, I am satisfied the Council considered the matter in line with its policy for Code of Conduct complaints. I understand that Mr X disagrees with the decisions made, but it is unlikely that I could find fault.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman