Carlisle City Council (21 017 731)
Category : Other Categories > Councillor conduct and standards
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 16 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s response to a Code of Conduct complaint he made against a Parish Councillor. This is because there is no evidence of fault on the Council’s part.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council did not respond properly to a complaint he made about a Parish Councillor. He wants the Council to address each separate area he raised and to each point individually.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complained to the Council that a Parish Councillor had breached the Code of Conduct by abusing their position and power.
- The Council’s Monitoring Officer responded to Mr X’s complaint. They said they had considered the complaint in consultation with the Independent Person and the Chair of the Standards Committee. They concluded the Parish Councillor’s actions did not constitute a breach of the Code of Conduct.
- It is not our role to investigate or comment on the actions of the Parish Councillor. We can only consider if there was fault in the way the Council considered the complaint.
- Whilst Mr X is dissatisfied with the response, in this case, the Council followed the process set out in its procedure for dealing with complaints about Councillors. There is no evidence of fault in the way it did so. That being the case, the Ombudsman will not consider the merits of the decision it made.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault on the Council’s part.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman