Brighton & Hove City Council (23 021 320)
Category : Other Categories > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 May 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint the Council censored her views at a public meeting. Any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement and the concerns raised would be better addressed to her local councillor or MP.
The complaint
- Miss X complained the Council stopped her from sharing her views at a public event. She said she had provided written material to the event as she could not attend, but this was confiscated by the Council. She said the Council’s decision to remove her material from the event was discriminatory and unlawful.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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:
- any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by an organisation. In addition, we will not normally investigate a complaint where the complainant is using their enquiry as a way of raising a wider community campaign about something of general concern but where they have not suffered injustice.
- Although Miss X is upset by the Council’s decision not to allow her material to be shared, I do not consider this has caused her a significant personal injustice. The concerns Miss X raised through her complaint and in the material provided, are part of a wider political discussion. My view is these concerns would be better addressed through her councillor or MP, not the Ombudsman.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement and the concerns raised would be better addressed through her MP or councillor.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman