1. Introduction
1.1 Stocksfield Parish Council is committed to providing a high-quality service for the residents of its area and for those who work in or who visit Stocksfield. From time to time, members of the public may have complaints about the administration or procedures of a parish council. In England, parish and town councils are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Local Government Ombudsman and there is no independent body to which the complainant can turn for an independent formal assessment of the position. For the benefit of good local administration, Stocksfield Parish Council has adopted a formal policy and procedure for considering complaints whether made by complainants direct or referred to the council from other bodies to whom they have been reported. The intention of this policy is
- to ensure that complainants can feel satisfied that, at the very least, their grievance has been properly and fully considered
- to allow the Council to amend its practices and procedures where necessary and thus improve the experiences of all persons with whom it interacts.
1.2 In some situations where a complaint is about the alleged conduct of an officer, an investigation may indicate that a disciplinary process needs to follow. In those circumstances the Council will use the Disciplinary Procedure and be mindful of the officer’s rights to confidentiality when reporting the outcomes to the complainant.
1.3 This procedure does not relate to complaints about the behaviour of a councillor. Any allegation that a councillor has breached the Council’s Code of Conduct, to which all elected and co-opted members are subject, should be reported to the Monitoring Officer of Northumberland County Council.
1.4 The following sections outline the complaints procedure. If a member of the public wishes to make a complaint against the Council, they should contact the Clerk to the Parish Council or the Council’s Chair. Details of how to make contact are included in section 7 and are available on the Council’s website.
2. Influencing Council decisions
2.1 The appropriate time for members of the public to influence Council decision-making is by raising concerns before the Council debates and votes on a matter. This may be done by writing to the Council in advance of the meeting at which the item is to be discussed. There may also be the opportunity to raise concerns in the public participation section of Council meetings. If a person is unhappy with a Council decision, they may raise concerns with the Council, but Standing Orders prevent the Council from re-opening issues for four 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.
3. Complaints defined
3.1 A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the Parish Council or its staff which affects an individual or a group of people.
4. When is a complaint resolved?
4.1 A complaint is resolved when the complainant is satisfied with the action taken or proposed to be taken or the explanation provided in response to the complaint, even though they may not agree with the original action or decision subject of the complaint.
5. Informal Complaints
5.1 During the course of daily business, minor complaints may be made to officers about the services provided. These will usually be dealt with by the Clerk. Every effort should be made to deal with these problems immediately, either by providing information, instigating the appropriate action or explaining a decision. Informal complaints will be resolved within 48 hours of receipt (where the time of receipt is the time the complaint is first read or communicated in person).
6. Formal complaints
6.1 Formal complaints are instigated in three ways:
- As a formal complaint at first instance
- After a person is dissatisfied with the outcome of an informal complaint or
- Where an informal complaint is not resolved within 48 hours
6.2 Unless there are extenuating circumstances, formal complaints should be made in writing (including email) to the Clerk in order that there is no doubt as to the subject matter of the complaint. A refusal by a complainant to document a complaint in writing does not preclude the complaint from being recorded and investigated. Anonymous complaints will be considered dependent upon the nature of the complaint.
6.3 The Clerk will normally acknowledge a formal complaint within 48 hours of its receipt (where the time of receipt is the time the complaint is first read or communicated in person).
6.4 The Clerk will investigate the circumstances of the complaint and attempt to resolve the matter with the complainant within 20 working days of its receipt.
6.5 Where the complaint is not resolved, either because of the continued dissatisfaction of the complainant or the expiration of 20 working days, the matter will be considered by the Council at its next meeting, except where the agenda for the next meeting has already been published, the complaint will be considered by the subsequent meeting of the Council. The complainant will be informed of the date and time of the meeting at which the complaint will be considered. The Council will consider whether, due to any confidential aspects of the complaint, the matter should be considered in the absence of the press and public.
6.6 The Council is not obliged to determine the outcome of a complaint at its meeting if there are other relevant issues outstanding or more information or advice is needed. The Council will inform the complainant in writing of its decision as soon as possible after the meeting and, in any event, within ten days. This will include any interim updates prior to reaching a conclusion.
6.7 The decision of the Council is final and subsequent complaints about the same matter will only be considered in the event of new information or further substantive issues coming to light.
6.8 All formal complaints will be recorded by the Clerk. The Clerk or Chair will inform the Council at its next meeting of any formal complaints made which have been resolved within 20 working days of being received.
7. General
7.1 Where any complaint relates to the Clerk, the complaint should be made to the Chair who will undertake the tasks identified above, depending whether the complaint is informal or formal. Where a complaint about actions of the Clerk is received by the Clerk or any other councillor, the complaint should be referred immediately to the Chair.
7.2 Where any complaint relates to an individual, that person will always be informed of the nature and circumstances of the complaint and invited to comment
7.3 The complaints procedure does not apply to complaints by a member of Council staff against another member of staff or against the Council as an employer.
7.4 The Council may consider whether, in the circumstances of any particular complaint, to make any ‘without liability payment’ or provide other reasonable benefit to any person who has suffered loss as a result of the Council’s maladministration. Any payment may only be authorised by the Council after obtaining legal advice which may include advice from the Council’s auditor on the propriety of such a payment.
7.5 Contact details for the Clerk and Chair are set out below.
Clerk -
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Office telephone: 01661 844667
Mobile telephone: 07908 601619
Postal address:
Clerk to the Parish Council
Stocksfield Parish Council
Stocksfield Community Centre
Mount View Terrace
Stocksfield
NE43 7RG
Chair -
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Telephone: See website menu headings ‘The Parish Council’ and ‘Councillors’
Postal address:
Chair to the Parish Council
Stocksfield Parish Council
Stocksfield Community Centre
Mount View Terrace
Stocksfield
NE43 7RG
Adoption and review history |
|
Adopted |
05 April 2022 |
Reviewed on | 07/03/23 |
Next review |
April 2024 |