Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about budget management as any injustice arising from this impacts all or most of the people in the Council’s area and so is not within our remit.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains a Council officer’s management of their department’s budget represents a potential misuse of public funds. Mr X is unhappy that the Council has not provided him with details of its investigation into this matter. Mr X wants an apology and for the Council to investigate what he believes to be fraud and incompetence.

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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 something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
4. 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 there is insufficient injustice from the complaint or another body is better placed to consider it (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X’s complaint relates to the management of public funds and as such, potentially impacts all or most of the people in the Council’s area. As per paragraph three, the law says we cannot investigate such matters.
8. Mr X can make his complaint to the Council’s own independent financial auditor and allegations of fraud can be made to the police.
9. We will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling in isolation as this does not cause Mr X a level of personal injustice that would warrant our involvement.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is not within our legal remit as the injustice impacts all or most of the people in the Council’s area.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman