Complaints - procedure
There are several stages that a complaint may
pass through if the answers that you get do not satisfy you, these
are:
By the Manager of the Department against which
you have made a complaint.
By either the Director or the Senior Manager of
the Department against which you have complained.
By either the Council's Monitoring Officer, the
Chief Executive or another very senior officer who is wholly
independent of the part of the Council about which you have
complained.
Your complaint will usually be dealt with at
the first stage initially. However, when we receive your complaint
it may automatically be upgraded straight away if it is seen to be
very serious indeed; or is against a Council Employee or a
Councillor personally.
- If after having gone through any (or all) of the
stages the Council thinks that it has given you a true and complete
answer to your complaint and if you will not accept it, then the
Council's Chief Executive may decide to let the matter be
determined either by the full Council or, more usually, a COMPLAINT
TRIBUNAL.
- A Complaint Tribunal is a panel of Elected
Councillors which will act as a 'court'. They will listen to your
evidence and the evidence of the Council and then they will reach a
judgement by themselves, having heard and read all of the evidence
without further comment by either the complainant or any Council
Officer.
- A Tribunal of Councillors will always reflect
the political 'balance' of the Council and will not have on it any
Councillor that has already considered the subject of the complaint
at any earlier hearing or at any Council Committee.
- Alternatively, if having gone through any of the
stages the Council believes that it has given you a true and lawful
answer and that you will not be satisfied by the Council's answer,
and there is no merit in delaying your complaint further, then the
Council may advise you to seek an independent review of your
complaint by the Local
Government OMBUDSMAN.