General complaints
This page sets out our process for general complaints.
To begin this process, read how to make a complaint.
In the descriptions below, 'working days' are Monday to Friday excluding public holidays.
Stage 1
Once received, your complaint will be reviewed, logged and acknowledged within 5 working days.
The Complaint acknowledgement we send you will include:
- Our understanding of your complaint
- Our understanding of the outcomes you are seeking, or a request for you to advise us of the outcomes you are seeking if that is not clear
- Aspects of the complaint we are responsible for and any that are out of scope
Then, within 10 working days of the acknowledgement being sent, your complaint will be investigated by a member of staff from the service you complained about. Our complaints team will track your complaint.
Any additional complaints raised during the investigation of your complaint will be incorporated into the stage 1 response if it has not already been issued. Any new issues that are unrelated to the original complaint or would unreasonably delay the response will be logged as a complaint.
Where a response to a complaint cannot be provided within the timeframe, the Council will agree suitable intervals with you for keeping you updated about your complaints progress.
Where an extension is needed to allow us to answer your complaint in full, this must be no longer than 10 working days without good reason. Should an extension be required we will contact you and explain the rationale for this decision and the expected timeframe for response.
A complaint response will be provided to you when the answer is known, not when any outstanding actions have been completed. Outstanding actions are tracked and actioned promptly, with updates provided to you as appropriate.
If you are not happy with the response, you may ask that it be escalated to stage 2. You should ask for this no later than 28 calendar days from our initial reply.
Stage 2
When you ask for your complaint to be escalated to stage 2 if you would us if you explained the reasons for this. However, if you do not provide us with a reason, we will make reasonable efforts to understand why you remain dissatisfied. The response at stage 1 will tell you how to do this.
Once received, your escalation request will be reviewed, logged and acknowledged within 5 working days.
The Complaint acknowledgement we send to you will include:
- Our understanding of your complaint
- Our understanding of the outcomes you are seeking, or a request for you to advise us of the outcomes you are seeking if that is not clear
- Aspects of the complaint we are responsible for and any that are out of scope
Then, within 20 working days of the acknowledgement being sent, your complaint will be investigated by an officer of our Complaints team and a response provided to you.
Where a response to a complaint cannot be provided within the timeframe, the Council will agree suitable intervals with you for keeping you updated.
Where an extension is required to allow us to answer your complaint in full, this must be no longer than 20 working days without good reason. Should an extension be required will contact you to explain why, and the expected timescale for a response.
A complaint response will be provided to you when the answer is known, not when any outstanding actions are completed. Outstanding actions are tracked and actioned promptly, with updates provided to you as appropriate.
After stage 2
If you are still not satisfied after your complaint has been through all stages of our complaints procedure, you can refer it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.