Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the management of a council meeting. This is because the issues raised have not caused the complainant a significant enough personal injustice.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about how the Council managed a meeting. She says issues were raised when they should not have been and when she challenged this she was ignored.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. 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.
6. I will not investigate Ms X’s complaint. Whilst I acknowledge that the handling of the meeting may have caused Ms X a certain level of frustration and embarrassment I do not consider this amounts to an injustice significant enough to warrant investigation.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because she has not suffered a significant enough injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman