It was alleged that the Member (“the Member”) of Broughton Community Council (“the Community Council”) and Wrexham County Borough Council (“the Council”) may have breached the Code of Conduct (“the Code”), regarding her behaviour towards employees of the Church in Wales (“CiW”), specifically, during a site meeting at a disused church and in a subsequent complaint to the CiW about the matter.
The Ombudsman’s Office started an investigation to consider paragraphs 4(b) (respect and consideration), 4(c) (bullying and harassment), 6(1)(a) (disrepute) and 7(a) (misuse of position) of the Code. Information was obtained from the CiW, the Community Council and the Council. The Complainant and a witness were interviewed. The Member and a key witness also provided limited information.
With regard to the site meeting, the investigation found that the accounts of what took place differed. In addition, a key witness was unwilling to provide evidence. Whilst attempts were made to engage with the key witness in order to fully understand what had happened and its impact, we were unable to establish their direct account.
With regard to the complaint to the CiW, the investigation found that whilst the Ombudsman did not condone the Member’s tone or comments, the Member was entitled to express her opinion and make a complaint in her private or official capacity should she choose to do so.
Taking into account the conflicting accounts provided, and the lack of any direct or otherwise supporting evidence from the key witness that would corroborate the allegations, or contradict what the Member said, it was not possible to reconcile the differences in the accounts provided in a way that would allow this Office to reach a balanced view of what took place.
Therefore, it was not possible to reach a determination on the allegations, even with further investigation, as to whether there had been a breach of the above paragraphs of the Code on the Member’s part. It was not therefore proportionate or in the public interest to continue the investigation.
Under Section 70 of the Local Government Act 2000, the Ombudsman decided that it was not in the public interest to continue the investigation. Therefore, the investigation was discontinued.