Stage 1
Staff will try to resolve your complaint quickly and informally, if they can do so.
If the matter cannot be resolved and you remain dissatisfied then you can ask for a formal investigation of the complaint. Your request must be made within 28 working days.
Stage 2
Once we receive a formal complaint we will send you a letter of acknowledgement. The acknowledgement should tell you the name of the officer investigating your complaint and set a date by which it should be dealt with. This should be within 28 working days of the date on which we receive your complaint.
If you are making a complaint on behalf of someone else, for example you are a solicitor, MP, councillor, carer or advocate, we will acknowledge the complaint by contacting the complainant directly. If we are in any doubt that you are acting on a complainant's behalf, then we will ask for confirmation of your authority.
The person investigating should seek clarification of the matter in question and any additional information, so that the issues are clearly understood from the start by both you and the officer. If necessary, the officer may request a meeting with you for this purpose. You will also be asked how you wish to see the complaint resolved.
You will be notified in writing of the outcome of your complaint within 28 working days. If, during the process of dealing with your complaint it appears that the 28 working days target is unlikely to be met, then the investigating officer will write to you with a revised target date and the reason(s) for the delay.
Stage 3
If within 28 days of receiving our response you are still not satisfied, then you can ask, in writing, for your complaint to be heard by the council's complaints panel (a small group of elected councillors).
The investigating officer, in preparation for the panel hearing, should identify those issues that have been satisfactorily resolved and those that remain outstanding and need to be considered by the panel.
Not less than 10 working days before the hearing, you should be told of the documents that will be presented to the panel. Copies of any documents that are not already in your possession will be made available to you.
At the hearing you can be accompanied by a friend or representative who may act for you. You will be invited to address the panel. The investigating officer will also address the panel.
The panel will make its decision in your absence and the absence of the investigating officer. You will be told of the panel's findings within three working days of the decision being made.
If any of the above stages show that your complaint is justified we will:
- Apologise
- Tell you what we have done to put things right
- Tell you how we have learned from our mistakes
- Discuss with you any redress
Monitoring or performance
After your complaint has been resolved, we will send you a questionnaire to assess whether you were satisfied with the complaints handling process. The purpose of the survey is to find out what you think about the way your complaint was dealt with so that we can monitor satisfaction and make improvements.
Anonymous complaints
Anonymous complaints will be looked into, although because of their anonymous nature it is not possible to follow all stages of the procedure. Anonymous complaints should be referred to the relevant department of the Chief Executive's office.