Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about standard committees because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained the Council failed to properly investigate a complaint about the conduct of a councillor during a public meeting. Mr Y says the behaviour has lowered his confidence in the Council itself.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr Y complained to the Council about a councillor’s conduct in October 2024. Local Authorities have a duty to appoint a Monitoring Officer to ensure the lawfulness and fairness of authority decision making. The Monitoring Officer must ensure the authority, its officers, and members maintain the highest standards of conduct.
6. Under the Council’s policy the Monitoring Officer must assess the complaint, including if the complaint were proven, whether it would be a breach of the Code of Conduct. In this case, the Monitoring Officer considered the evidence available and decided it would not amount to misconduct, even if Mr Y’s complaint were proven.
7. While Mr Y may disagree with the Monitoring Officer’s decision, they were entitled to use their professional judgement. As the Council has considered the issue and available evidence in line with its policy, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. We will therefore not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman