Eastleigh Borough Council (23 021 489)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint because the Council is not responsible for the issue Mr X complains about.
The complaint
- Mr X complains that a Council employee made a complaint about him to an external body.
- Mr X is unhappy that the Council did not speak directly to him first about concerns identified with his work and instead complained externally.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate a complaint where the body complained about is not responsible for the issue being raised. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(1), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X is a consultant who provides services to planning applicants.
- The individual who made the complaint against Mr X was employed on a freelance basis by the Council. The Council did not ask them to complain about Mr X as part of this role.
- The individual who made the complaint did so in their own right as a member of a professional body that monitors practice standards for that profession. They made the complaint against Mr X who is also a member of the professional body.
- The Council is not responsible for the issue Mr X complains of.
- As the Council is not responsible for the complaint against Mr X it had no reason to speak to him before the complaint was made.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about a complaint made against him to a professional body because the Council is not responsible for the issue Mr X complains of.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman