Blog: 18 November 2022 - Helen McGrath, Head of Public Affairs

It’s the second day (remotely presented) of the LLG Governance Conference and we opened to a session by Mick King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman on Maladministration and the Monitoring Officer. The current provision relating to maladministration (he reminded us) has been in place since 1974 and has, in his view, rather stood the test of time being broadly unconstrained by statute or overly prescriptive case law. Indeed, he described it as a ‘fresh and flexible doctrine’ which takes account of ‘public law principals and engages a wide range of expected benchmarks.’ 

It was interesting to learn that prior to the creation of the Standards Board, the LGSCO’s predecessors were asked if they wished to broaden their role to include councillor complaints. The answer back then was no. Things might have been very different today had it been a resounding ‘yes’. The situation in England differs substantially to the rest of the UK. In Wales of course, the Ombudsman has a statutory role in investigating ethical standards and can undertake investigations on their own initiative. Indeed, it has done so recently in relation to the administration of the homelessness review process by local authorities in Wales. The Scottish Ombudsman has the power to set complaint standards and data reporting expectations and in Northern Ireland, parents and pupils can raise complaints about what goes on within schools.  

Mick urged Monitoring Officer's to view maladministration as an important and valuable tool which presents a ‘clear lever in exerting influence’ in the context of the downgrading of the status of the MO and the effect of the MO’s influence on corporate health. There was a warning though for anyone expecting the Ombudsman to contextualise complaints in light of changing financial circumstances; - ‘whilst conscious of the pressures, our conclusion is we must hold the line on the standards we expect…it is not for me to wave away rights no matter how I might sympathise with the situation’.
 
Dennis and I will cover more of the conference in our Monday podcast next week together with a look at the Autumn Statement. You can catch up on the most recent recording of the Grapevine podcast via Youtube or via the news section of the LLG website.   

Best wishes 

Helen McGrath 

Helen@llg.org.uk