The Complaints Process - what happens next
Stage 1 – Local Investigation
Your complaint will initially be dealt with by the manager of the section responsible for the service you have complained about. Their response will tell you how you can take your complaint further if you are not happy with the reply.
Stage 2 – Complaint to the Corporate Complaints Manager
If you are not satisfied after stage 1, we will refer your complaint to our Corporate Complaints Manager for investigation. The Corporate Complaints Manager will carry out an independent review of the complaint, on behalf of the Chief Executive. We will tell you if you can take your complaint further (for example, to the Local Government Ombudsman or the Council's Monitoring Officer.) if you are still not satisfied with our response.
Please note that an officer who has been involved in the matter being complained about may be shown the complaint and invited to submit their comments upon it. In the event that your complaint relates directly to a member of staff, you may wish to mark your correspondence ‘private and confidential’.
A full copy of the Corporate Complaints Procedure can be viewed online.
What service standards can I expect ?
- We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days
- In most cases we will send you a full written reply within 10 working days. If not, we will tell you why, let you know when you can expect a full reply, and give you a name to contact.
- We can provide information on audio tape, in large print or in other languages if you need it.
- We can help you to make your complaint or you can ask a relative or friend to make the complaint on your behalf.
Further Information:
* Download Complaints Complaints Procedure (application/pdf; 46kb)
