Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to approve funding to a Town Council for a specific project. That is because this decision is one that affects all or most of the people in the Council’s area, and the law does not allow us to investigate such decisions.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained because she believed the Council’s decision to approve funding to another Council, to assist in the development of a neighbourhood plan, was flawed. Mrs X said this meant council tax revenue was being misspent.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mrs X wrote to the Council requesting information about a decision to approve funding for town council. The Council wrote back to Mrs X and said monies had been approved, but because it did not yet have detail about how that money would be spent, it had not transferred any money.
6. Because this is a matter that affects all the council taxpayers in the Council’s area, we will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. The law does not allow us to investigate such issues.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the law does not allow us to investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman