Folkestone & Hythe District Council (19 001 427)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Ms X complains about the Council’s decision to fund a development. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because the Council’s funding affects all or most of the residents of the area.
The complaint
- Ms X complains about the Council’s decision to fund a development.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- The Courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered the complainant's comments and the Council's comments and Ms X has had an opportunity to comment on the draft decision.
What I found
- Ms X argues that the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny wrongly excluded members of the public for a meeting where the proposed development was discussed.
- Any decision by the Council to fund development affects all residents of an area as it will have an impact on council tax bills. The Ombudsman cannot therefore investigate such a complaint. The decision to exclude relates to a matter which is out of jurisdiction and the courts have held that we cannot investigate such related complaints.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the matter affects all or most of the people of the area.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman