We welcome all forms of feedback and we are committed to ensuring we use it to maintain, enhance and improve our services.
We will consider your communication a formal complaint when you express dissatisfaction with our standard of service, actions or lack of action. However, if you are contacting us for the first time about a problem, we may try to resolve the matter as a service request, if we believe it can be resolved quickly.
A service request is an opportunity for the relevant team to put things right for you or explain what went wrong.
We will reply within 10 working days. If you remain dissatisfied with our response, and you wish to register a formal complaint, we have a three-stage process, which is outlined below.
What to expect when making a formal complaint:
Stage one
- When we have received your complaint, an acknowledgement will be sent within 5 working days.
- We will investigate your complaint and a senior manager will reply to you within 10 working days after acknowledgement.
Stage two
- If you are dissatisfied with the response, and can provide additional evidence, please write to our Complaints Co-ordinator who will review your complaint with the relevant Chief Officer.
- A written reply will be sent within 20 working days after acknowledgement.
Stage three
- If you are still unhappy with the way we have dealt with your complaint, you can ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to look at your case. Visit the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman's website for more information.
Please provide all the relevant information to help us deal with your feedback. If we need longer to give you a full response, we will contact you.
Councillor complaints
Find out how to make a complaint against a Councillor.