Be aware that the information given on this page relates to feedback and complaints that are following the council’s Corporate Feedback Scheme only.
Feedback or complaints regarding the below services are handled differently -
If you wish to submit your feedback anonymously, it will be recorded as a suggestion and no response will be provided.
It is at the councils' discretion how we choose to handle your feedback.
Complaints
The Council have adopted the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman definition of a complaint: “A complaint is ‘An expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual or group of individuals’.
When you make a complaint we promise to -
- keep you informed
- treat you fairly
- look into your case fully and properly
- try to find a suitable solution wherever possible
If this is the first time you are reporting an issue to us, we may decide to treat this as a request for service or as a concern. We may also treat your complaint as a concern if you did not personally receive a service provided by us.
If we decide to treat your issue as a concern, it will be responded within 10 working days. A concern is a one stage process with no escalation options. If you are not satisfied with the response or how we have chosen to handle your issues, you will be directed to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman.
You should make us aware of your complaint within 12 months of the incident happening or within 12 months from when you first became aware that you had reason for complaint. If your complaint is received later than this, we may not be able to be fully investigate it.
We provide a fair and reasonable complaint service and make it as accessible as possible. However, there are times when the frequency or type of contact from a complainant delays our consideration of their complaints, or those made by other people. If this happens then, on a case by case basis we may decide to limit the ways that the complainant can contact us.
We would request that you treat the council and its employees with dignity and respect when submitting complaints and feedback. We reserve the right to cancel any complaint that contains excessive foul and abusive language.
Be aware, if we need more time at any stage of the process or require signed permission from the complainant if you complain on their behalf, we will tell you when we expect that we can answer in full.
Complaint - stage 1
Within 3 working days we will -
- acknowledge your complaint
- tell you if you need to follow one of our alternative complaints procedures
We will also -
- let you know if we need more information
- advise you if you must fill in a form if you are complaining for someone else
- tell you if we need more time at any stage of the process and when we expect we will provide our answer in full
If you remain unhappy and wish to request that your complaint moves to stage 2, tell us your reasons why within 28 days of your stage 1 response. We will then let you know within 3 working days if your complaint can move to the next stage. We may not escalate complaints to the next stage if not accompanied by valid reasons or because you disagree with the outcome at stage 1. To see what criteria we will assess your request for a stage 2 complaint against, see the customer feedback process leaflet.
Complaint - stage 2
At stage 2 -
- a different person reviews your case using any additional information to help us
- we aim to send a full response within 20 working days
- if you are not happy when you receive your stage two response you have 28 days to tell us if you wish to progress your complaint further
Once you have received a response at Stage 2, the Council’s complaints process is finished.
If you remain unsatisfied:
- for most complaints about the Council, you can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
- if your complaint is about the Council’s role as your landlord you can contact the Housing Ombudsman
Compliments
Your compliments are always passed onto our staff, so they know you appreciate the work they are doing. When we get a compliment we will make sure it is passed to the right people and we will tell you when we have done this.
Suggestions
We welcome your suggestions as to how we can improve the services we deliver to you. If you complain about why we do things and not what we do, we will treat this as a suggestion and not a complaint.
When you make a suggestion we will -
- make sure it reaches the right people to look at it
- let you know when it was sent to them
- if applicable, provide you with a response regarding any action we may take as a result of your suggestion