Summary: We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint about how the Council dealt with a complaint about a Councillor’s conduct. This is because any injustice arising from the matters complained about is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains on behalf of Mr Y about the conduct of a Councillor. He says the Council failed to follow its complaints procedure and the Councillors' Code of Conduct. He also says the Council has failed to comply with the Equality Act. Mr Y says this caused distress, affected his health and made him feel discriminated against because of his disabilities.

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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, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

3. We cannot find that an organisation has breached the Equality Act. However, we can find an organisation at fault for failing to take account of its duties under the Equality Act.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X, Mr Y and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr Y has complained about the conduct of a councillor. In particular, he objects to a Councillor using a response the Council had already provided within its stage two complaint response when replying to his correspondence. He says this was not an appropriate response to the concerns he raised.
7. Th Ombudsman cannot investigate the conduct of a councillor. Complaints about whether a Councillor has breached the Code of Conduct are a matter for the Council's Monitoring Officer. However, we can consider how the Council dealt with a code of conduct complaint. In this case, the Council has not considered Mr Y’s concerns through its code of conduct complaint procedures. However, I do not consider Mr Y has suffered any significant injustice because of any issues with how the Council dealt with the matter. Mr Y still received a reply to the concerns he raised even if he was unsatisfied with the councillor’s response.
8. I have also considered Mr Y's concerns about discrimination. The Council explained how it had taken account of its duties under the Equality Act. It provided information about its equality and diversity policies and showed it had carried out Equality Impact Assessments. The Council also apologised if Mr Y felt he had not been treated fairly. As the Council properly considered its duties under the Equality Act it is unlikely we would find fault. On the information available, I have also not seen evidence of a significant injustice arising from this issue that would justify further investigation.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman