The Ombudsman received a complaint that a Member (“the Member”) of Magor with Undy Town Council (“the Town Council”) had breached the Code of Conduct (“the Code”).
It was alleged that during a Town Council meeting (held at a venue with known acoustic issues), the Member, who was Chair at the time, became aggressive, rude and hostile towards the Complainant, (a member of the public), about hearing difficulties which the Complainant said she was experiencing, and had failed to address issues and implement reasonable adjustments.
The Ombudsman’s Office started an investigation to consider paragraphs 4(a) (equality of opportunity) and 4(b) (respect and consideration) of the Code. Information was obtained from the Town Council, including a copy of an audio-visual recording of the Town Council meeting.
The investigation found the audio-visual recording included a short exchange between the Complainant and the Member about the matter, during which the Member’s tone and manner remained firm and level and did not suggest the Member had made any remarks which would have been serious enough to engage the Code.
The investigation found that reasonable adjustments (and any potential failure to implement them) would be the responsibility of the Town Council as a body and not the sole responsibility of an individual Member, and as such any complaint about a failure to make reasonable adjustments was a matter for the Town Council as a body to address.
The investigation also found the Town Council had taken reasonable steps and implemented measures to address matters raised by the Complainant and make reasonable adjustments. It was concluded there was no evidence to suggest a failure to comply with the Code.