General Complaints Policy
11 May 2020
Denton Parish Council is committed to providing a quality service for the benefit of the people who live or work in its area or are visitors to the locality. If you are dissatisfied with the standard of service you have received from this council or are unhappy about an action or lack of action by this council, this Complaints Procedure see out how you may complain to tie council and how we shall try to resolve your complaint.
This Complaints Procedure applies to complaints about council administration and procedures and may include complaints about how council employees have dealt with your concerns.
This Complaints Procedure does not apply to:
- Complaints by one council employee against another council employee, or between a council employee and the council as employer. These matters are dealt with under the council’s disciplinary and grievance procedures.
- Complaints against councillors. Complaints against councillors are covered by the Code of Conduct for Members adopted by the Council and, if a
- Complaint against a councillor is received by the council, it will be referred to the Monitoring Officer of South Kesteven District Council. Further information on the process of dealing with complaints against councillors may be obtained from the Monitoring Officer of South Kesteven District Council.
The appropriate time for influencing Council decision-making is by raising your concerns before the Council debates and votes on a matter. You may do this by writing to the Council in advance of the meeting at which the item is to be discussed. If you are unhappy with a Council decision, you may raise your concerns with the Council but Standing Orders prevent the Council from re-opening issues for six months from the date of the decision, unless there are exceptional grounds to consider this necessary and the special process set out in the Standing Orders is followed.
You may make your complaint about the Council's procedures or administration to the Clerk. You may do this in person, by phone, or by writing to or emailing the Clerk. The contact details can be found on the Parish Council’s website.
Wherever possible, the Clerk will try to resolve your complaint immediately. If this is not possible, the Clerk will normally try to acknowledge your complaint within five working days.
If you do not wish to report your complaint to the Clerk, you may make your complaint directly to the Chairman of the Council who will report your complaint to the Council.
The Clerk or the Council (as appropriate) will investigate each complaint, obtaining further information as necessary from you and/or from staff or members of the Council.
The Clerk or the Chairman of the Council will notify you within 20 working days of the outcome of your complaint and of what action (if any) the Council proposes to take as a result of your complaint. (In exceptional cases the twenty working days timescale may have to be extended. If it is, you will be kept informed.)
If you are dissatisfied with the response to your complaint, you may ask for your complaint to be referred to the full Council and (usually within eight weeks) you will be notified in writing of the outcome of the review of your original complaint.
Unreasonable or Vexatious Complaints.
Where a complainant persists in wishing to proceed when the complaint clearly has no reasonable basis, or when the Council has already taken reasonable action in response, or where some other appropriate procedure has been taken, it may be decided by the Council or the Clerk that no further action can usefully be taken and will inform the complainant to that effect, making it clear that only new and substantive issues will merit a response. (Vexatious Complaints policy refers)
Anonymous Complaints.
Anonymous complaints may be dismissed at the discretion of the Clerk depending on the type and seriousness of the allegation
Confidentiality.
Where circumstances demand, e.g. where matters concern sensitive information or third parties are involved, the Council and Clerk will take care to maintain confidentiality.
In addition this Complaints Procedure is not appropriate in the cases of financial irregularity, criminal activity or employee conduct. These will be dealt with by either the Police, the Audit Commission or the Council's disciplinary procedure.
The Council's Complaints Procedure was adopted on 10th May 2016 and reviewed:
ACM 13 May 2019
ACM 11 May 2020
J. McCloskey
Clerk/Proper Officer
to Denton Parish Council: