South Derbyshire District Council (22 009 441)
Category : Other Categories > Elections and electoral register
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 27 Oct 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the conduct of a local election. The actions of the Returning Officer are outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
- The complainant, I shall call Mr X, complains the Council failed to preserve the privacy of a polling booth by allowing CCTV to operate within a polling station.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of Returning Officers. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34A, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complains the Council allowed CCTV to operate within a polling station, thus compromising the privacy of electors.
- Elections are conducted under the authority of a Returning Officer. This is usually a council officer appointed for the purpose in local elections. The officer does not fall within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
- In this case the Returning Officer is a Council employee. However, when overseeing the conduct of elections, the employee is not acting as a Council Officer, rather they are the Returning Officer. As above, actions of returning Officers are outside our jurisdiction.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is outside our jurisdiction for the reasons stated above.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman