29/10/2025
Dudley Council Faces Scrutiny After They Attempt To Silence Disabled Residents
Through a Subject Access Request (SAR), a disabled resident obtained internal Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council emails showing how senior officers discussed putting him on the “vexatious complainant” list — after he raised evidence-based complaints about a statutory noise nuisance and disability harassment.
The emails show: • Staff circulating his name and address while asking “are you happy for us to add him?” • The Deputy Monitoring Officer replying in one line: “Thanks – I think he can be designated as vexatious.” • No Equality Impact Assessment, safeguarding review, or Monitoring Officer report – despite the council being on written notice of autism, ADHD, and severe mental-illness diagnoses.
That’s potentially unlawful. Under the Equality Act 2010, s.149, councils must “have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and advance equality.” Under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, s.5, a Monitoring Officer must issue a report if any action may be unlawful. Neither safeguard appears to have been triggered before the label was applied.
The resident later asked a disability-rights advocate to file a Freedom of Information request so that the council’s handling could be independently verified — and that public FOI request is now visible here: 👉 WhatDoTheyKnow – Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Vexatious Complainant Designation
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Why this matters: Councils are quietly using “vexatious” and “persistent complainant” policies to shut down disabled residents who raise legitimate grievances — often without the required equality checks, impact assessments, or legal oversight. The effect is to remove people’s ability to engage with their council or participate in local democracy.
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TL;DR: A council internally labelled a disabled man “vexatious” for making lawful complaints. Emails show it was done in minutes, with no equality assessment or safeguarding review. The evidence surfaced through a SAR — not transparency from the council.
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Further context: • Equality Act 2010, ss.15 & 149 • ICO guidance on “vexatious” under FOIA vs “unreasonable complainant” under complaints policy • Ongoing pattern reported in the Black Country (“the Dudley dodge”) — using “vexatious” tags to deter scrutiny.
Freedom of Information Act 2000 Request – Governance, Equality and Data-Protection Compliance in “Vexatious / Persistent Complainant” Designation and Exclusion from Democratic Participation To: Freedom of Information Officer, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Date: 28 October 2025 ⸻ Backgr...
