Complain about a councillor
All councillors and co-opted members of local authority committees are required to comply with the members code of conduct.
You can complain about a councillor if you believe they have broken this code.
How to make a complaint
To make a complaint about a councillor, you can use our complaint form (Microsoft Word format).
Send your completed form by:
- email to: legalsupport@southglos.gov.uk
- post to: South Gloucestershire Council, The Monitoring Officer, PO Box 1953, Bristol, BS37 0DE
What happens when you complain
If you submit a complaint form, we will confirm this in writing within 5 working days.
The monitoring officer will assess whether or not the complaint is valid.
If the complaint is not valid we will write to you giving reasons for this and no further action will be taken.
If the complaint is valid the monitoring officer will notify the relevant councillor. The councillor will be provided with details of the complaint and will be invited to make a representation to the monitoring officer.
The monitoring officer will review the complaint with an independent person who is not a councillor and has been appointed to deal with complaints against councillors. They will decide on any action required.
In some cases the monitoring officer or independent person may request the initial assessment is carried out by the standards sub-committee made up of three members of the regulatory committee.
If the outcome of the initial assessment shows there is a breach of the code of conduct, we will decide if further action is needed. This can include:
- investigating your complaint
- taking other action, such as local resolution, mediation or training
- taking no further action
We will write to you to let you know the decision or actions.