Summary: Mr X complains about the actions of a local councillor and associated matters. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because parts of the complaint fall outside our jurisdiction and we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X seeks.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, says a local councillor did not take the action he wanted in connection with a combined police and Council operation when he sought assistance from her and that she lied and defamed him. Mr X says the outcome he wants is for the councillor to lose her job.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. In considering the complaint I spoke to Mr X and reviewed the information he and the Council provided. I gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

6. Mr X says his business was unfairly targeted by a police operation, run jointly with the Council.
7. Mr X wanted to speak to his local councillor, Councillor Q, about this matter. He says she did not assist him, lied when she said she did not know about the operation and defamed him.
8. The new Buckinghamshire County Council, which in 2020 replaced the Council and four other former councils, considered Mr X’s complaint that Councillor Q had breached the Members Code of Conduct by her actions. However, having done so, it explained to Mr X that as there was no evidence of behaviour to support a complaint under the Code, it would not take any further action.
9. Associated with the concerns Mr X raised about Councillor Q are a number of related matters which have been the subject of legal proceedings.

Assessment

10. The restriction highlighted at paragraph 3 applies to the parts of Mr X’s complaint which have been the subject of court proceedings. They fall outside our jurisdiction and we cannot investigate them.
11. With regard to the complaints he made against Councillor Q, Buckinghamshire County Council considered his allegations but found no evidence of behaviour to support a complaint under the Code. Moreover, as the outcome Mr X seeks for his complaint is one we have no prospect of achieving, we will not consider the complaint about this matter further.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because parts of it fall outside our jurisdiction and we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X seeks.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman