Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council dealt with a complaint. We cannot investigate personnel matters. The Council has apologised to the complainant for the poor handling of a discussion, and we consider that further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Ms X, says the Council failed to properly investigate her complaint about the actions of a Council Officer during a private meeting.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by Ms X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X is a volunteer on a management committee for a hall which is owned by the Council.
6. She complained to the Council about the actions of a Council Officer during a discussion. She says she was verbally assaulted by the Officer and two other private individuals who represented regular users of the building.
7. The Council’s responses confirm an investigation was carried out. It says it is clear a heated discussion took place and that this was not handled well. It has apologised for this (as far as the Council employee is concerned). The Council refuses to confirm what action has been taken concerning its employee.
8. Ms X complains the investigating Officer only spoke to three individuals and two witnesses and it lost her personal account of what happened. She says this was a one-sided review.
9. The Council accepts the meeting was not handled well and has apologised for the distress Ms X experienced. It cannot reveal what action it has taken with its Officer. This is correct in that to do so would reveal personal information about them. The Council has no jurisdiction to consider the conduct of those who took part in the discussion who are not its employees.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we cannot consider the actions of the Council involving its employee as this is a personnel matter. Such matters are outside our jurisdiction.
11. The Council accepts the discussion was not conducted as well as it should have been. It has apologised for this.
12. I understand Ms X found the experienced distressing. However, I do not consider that further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman