Complaints Policy and Procedure

We define a complaint as: 'An expression of dissatisfaction with our service (whether justified or not) which requires a response.'

A complaint could be in relation to any of the following examples:

• there has been a delay in providing a service
• we have made a mistake in the way we have provided a service
• we have failed to deliver a service - this could relate to quality, standard or service level
• we have not listened properly
• our processes or policies have not been followed
• our legal or regulatory requirements have not been met
• we have not delivered against a commitment or promise
• our staff have not been helpful or have not conducted themselves correctly

What is not a complaint?

Informal service issues

We encourage all our staff to work with customers and to try to find a resolution to any expression of dissatisfaction without the need to use the formal complaints process.

In many cases we can resolve an issue very quickly - by putting the problem right straight away. We consider these types of cases as informal service issues.

An example might be where a refuse team has not picked up a customer's bin, but once the team is made aware of this, the bin will be emptied as soon as possible.

You can make an informal complaint, or service request, by discussing your concerns with the member of staff involved, or filling in a form at Complaints and Feedback.

However, if informal discussions do not resolve your issues, or you do not consider the informal complaint or service request route to be appropriate, then you can make a formal complaint under the Council's complaints procedure.

Complaints not covered by this Policy

There are some complaints that we cannot consider under this Policy because:

• there are other processes more suitable for dealing with them, such as statutory appeal or tribunal process;
• they are outside our control;
• there are separate legal or regulatory requirements covering these services;
• it would have been reasonable for you to have complained about the matter sooner.

Examples are:

• complaints made more than one year after you became aware of the issue (that being the subject of the complaint);
• the conduct of Councillors (see Complaints about Councillors);
• where it is the responsibility of one of our partners, or another local Council, or another organisation (we will direct you to the right place);
• where there is disagreement with the result of a process that has its own appeal process (see Appeals below);
• anonymous complaints (see Anonymous Complaints below);
• dissatisfaction with local or Government policies (see Complaints about policies below);
• unacceptable or vexatious complaints (please see our Policy attached at Appendix A);
• complaints relating to staff personnel issues, such as disciplinary and grievance issues (see Complaints about Staff below).

Complaints about Councillors

The Council is committed to ensuring that elected Members (Councillors) uphold good standards of behaviour. If you believe that a Borough Councillor (or a Parish or Town Councillor within the Council's area) has not complied in some way with the code of conduct for Councillors, please read the advice and guidance on the Council's website at Complaints about Councillors on how to complain under the Standards Complaint Process.

Appeals

An appeal is where a request is submitted to change a decision that has been made.

For some services there are alternative statutory appeal or tribunal processes in place which must be used rather than the complaint procedure. These services include:

• appeals against the refusal of planning permission or planning enforcement appeals against statutory notices;
• parking appeals;
• housing benefit appeals;
• homelessness decisions.

Anonymous complaints

We will only deal with anonymous complaints where they involve individual or public safety, alleged corruption, or other serious impropriety, and where we have sufficient information to allow an investigation to proceed.

Complaints about policies

You can make a complaint if you consider that the Council has not followed its policies or procedures, or if the Council has not followed the proper processes in adopting or reviewing its policies.

However, some complaints are expressions of dissatisfaction with Government or local policies, as opposed to our failure to meet service standards. We will do our best to explain the policy and the reasons for it. However, if you are still unhappy we may direct you to your MP or your local Councillor for further discussions depending on whether this is national or local policy.

Complaints about staff

We will ensure that staff who are the subject of a complaint, or who may have a clear conflict of interest, will not handle or respond to the complaint. The member of staff will be told about the complaint and asked for his/her views.

Where your complaint involves personnel issues against Council staff, such as disciplinary and grievance issues, the Council will investigate this separately and take any action deemed necessary.

Complaints from Councillors or MPs

Where Councillors or MPs make a complaint on behalf of a constituent, we will deal with the complaint following our normal processes and keep the Councillor or MP informed of progress.