Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the failure of the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive to personally respond to the complainant’s enquiry. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. From the information we have seen, there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council responded to the complainant.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mr X, complains the Council’s Chief Executive (CE) and the Leader of the Council failed to personally respond to his request for information.

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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 effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. All local authorities (other than parish and town councils) must have procedures in place to deal with complaints about member conduct. Complaints about a councillor’s conduct may be made through their Monitoring Officer and Standards Committees. 
6. Mr X complains the Leader of the Council failed to respond personally to his complaint. If Mr X believes the Leader has broken the Council’s Code of Conduct for councillors he can complain to the Council’s Monitoring Officer. If he is dissatisfied with the outcome of such a complaint he can complain to the Ombudsman.
7. The Ombudsman does not offer a right of appeal against a council's decision on member conduct complaints, but we can consider if there was fault in the way the council considered the complaint.
8. Mr X also complains the CE failed to personally respond to his complaint. The information I have seen shows the Head of Development responded to Mr X’s initial correspondence on behalf of the Leader of the Council and the CE. An Assistant Director responded to Mr X’s request for a review of his complaint. This is in line with the Council’s published complaints procedure. There is no statutory or local requirement for the Leader of the Council or the CE to respond personally to correspondence.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because from the information provided we have seen no evidence of fault in the way the Council responded to Mr X’s correspondence.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman