Forest of Dean District Council (25 027 380)
Category : Other Categories > Councillor conduct and standards
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 22 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a complaint about the conduct of a parish councillor as it is unlikely we will find fault.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council declined to investigate a complaint he made about the conduct of a parish councillor, despite the Council having concluded that a breach of the code of conduct may have occurred. Mr X says he feels stressed and worried about future conduct issues as he considers the misconduct he complained about has been allowed to continue unchecked.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and the Council’s procedure for dealing with councillor conduct complaints.
My assessment
- The Council assessed Mr X’s complaint and found that while it potentially disclosed a breach of the parish council’s code of conduct, it would not investigate. In its complaint response to Mr X, the Council provided a full explanation as to how it came to this decision. Essentially, the Council decided it would not be in the public interest to investigate and that it was unlikely an investigation could achieve any meaningful outcome.
- Under its complaint procedure, the Council is entitled to decide which complaints it will refer for investigation and while I recognise that Mr X is unhappy that the Council decided not to investigate his complaint, this does not equate to the Council being at fault. We will not investigate as I consider it is unlikely we will find such fault.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman