Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council (21 004 574)
Statement Not upheld Councillor conduct and standards 16-Mar-2022
Summary: Mr X complained about the way the Council investigated a complaint into his conduct at parish council meetings. The Ombudsman did not find fault with the Council's actions.
Statement Upheld Councillor conduct and standards 01-Mar-2022
Summary: Ms X complains the Corporation has mishandled a complaint that was made against her. She says the Corporation had a biased and improper motive, unnecessarily delayed its investigation, and failed to provide her with an explanation for its decision. She says this caused her stress and outrage. We find fault with the Corporation's actions. We have made recommendations for the Council to remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified.
Newcastle upon Tyne City Council (20 002 046)
Statement Not upheld Councillor conduct and standards 18-Feb-2022
Summary: Ms D says the Council delayed investigating her complaint about a Councillor. She is also dissatisfied with the investigation. There were some delays by the Council, but these happened at the height of the covid-19 pandemic. The Ombudsman has completed the investigation and not upheld the complaint.
London Borough of Sutton (21 000 529)
Statement Upheld Councillor conduct and standards 17-Jan-2022
Summary: Mr X complains that the Council has failed to investigate properly his complaint about member conduct. The Ombudsman has found fault in the way the Council considered his complaint in that an incorrect assumption was made when deciding not to pursue a formal investigation. However, the Ombudsman does not consider that this is likely to have affected the decision not to investigate further.
Shropshire Council (21 000 923)
Statement Not upheld Councillor conduct and standards 14-Dec-2021
Summary: Ms B complains that the Council has failed to investigate her complaint about the conduct of members of the local Town Council. The Ombudsman has found no fault in the way the Council considered the complaint, so we cannot question the merits of the Council's decision not to investigate the complaint but to write to town councillors collectively.
Broxtowe Borough Council (21 007 470)
Statement Upheld Councillor conduct and standards 28-Oct-2021
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X's complaint that the Council failed to respond to his query about an email address and failed to deal appropriately with his communications and conduct complaint. The Council has taken appropriate action by confirming the email address and apologising. There is no remaining injustice to Mr X and investigation would not be a good use of limited resources.
Cumbria County Council (20 012 965)
Statement Not upheld Councillor conduct and standards 18-Oct-2021
Summary: Mrs X complained the Council did not fully consider her complaint about the conduct of a councillor. She said the Council's actions caused distress and negatively affected her mental health. We found no fault by the Council and have concluded our investigation.
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council (20 013 488)
Statement Upheld Councillor conduct and standards 28-Sep-2021
Summary: Mrs C complained the Council's Monitoring Officer failed to properly consider her complaint and respond to her as set out in its Policy. As a result, Mrs C said she experienced distress and lost trust in the Council's handling of her concerns. We found no fault in the Council's Code of Conduct decision, we cannot therefore criticise its merits. However, we found it at fault for unnecessarily withholding her planning objections too long and failed to respond to her complaint within its own deadlines. The Council has agreed to apologise for the fault it has not already apologised for. It also agreed to remind its officers to respond to complaints as set out in its Policy.
Sedgemoor District Council (21 000 515)
Statement Not upheld Councillor conduct and standards 14-Sep-2021
Summary: Mr D disagrees with the outcome of a Code of Conduct investigation by the Council. The Ombudsman has discontinued the complaint because he cannot achieve the outcome sought by Mr D.
Luton Borough Council (20 004 450)
Statement Upheld Councillor conduct and standards 06-Sep-2021
Summary: Mr X complained the Council took too long to consider his complaint about councillor conduct. During my investigation, the Council acknowledged there were delays and has apologised. These are suitable actions to remedy the frustration caused to Mr X. Mr X also complained the Council failed to investigate his complaint properly. There was no fault in how the Council decided not to investigate Mr X's complaint. The Council has stated its complaints process could be clearer and is in the process of clarifying the procedures around councillor complaints. Therefore, I will not investigate this matter further as there is nothing more I could achieve.