Make a general complaint

You can complain about:

• a service we’ve provided, or someone has provided on our behalf
• the behaviour or attitude of our staff
• how well our staff speak English (this is called the ‘fluency duty’ and does not include things like accent or nationality)
• behaviour which goes against our own policies

You cannot complain to us about:

• a decision where you’ve already been told how to appeal (for example, planning applications, school admissions, and benefit decisions)
• schools, care homes, and other private companies (you must complain directly to them)
• services we do not provide (for example, your housing, public transport services, your energy and water supply, or the emergency services)
• damage which you want to claim compensation for (you must make an insurance claim)

1. Report it quickly. The sooner you make a complaint, the sooner we can start looking into it. This can stop the problem getting any worse.

2. Make sure you're complaining about something we can help you with. You can find out more in the 'what you cannot complain about' section.

3. Give us all the information we need in your complaint. If you do not, it'll take us longer to look at your complaint. You'll need to tell us:

• the person or team you're complaining about
• what happened
• when and where it happened
• how you've been affected
• how you'd like us to put it right
• your case number, if you're complaining about something for the second time
• your contact details

4. Keep it brief. Only tell us what's relevant to your complaint, and do not try to complain about multiple problems in one go. Use bullet points to break up the information.

5. Send evidence if you have any.

Your complaint will be sent to the complaints team. They'll let you know when they've received your complaint, usually within one working day.

They'll contact you to find out more and ask what you want to happen. They'll let you know what they’re going to do next.

Some complaints can be dealt with immediately. If this is possible, the complaints team will do this, if you agree.

If your complaint cannot be dealt with within 5 working days, it will go to the formal complaints process.

A member of staff from the service you’re complaining about will look at your complaint. It will not be the person or team your complaint is about. We call them the investigating officer.

The investigating officer will contact you as soon as possible, usually within one working day. They'll double check the details of your complaint with you.

They'll also decide when they'll respond to your complaint by, and agree that date with you. It will not be any longer than 20 working days from the date they contact you. If it's not possible to meet this deadline, the investigating officer will contact you and let you know.

Once the investigating officer has looked into your complaint, they'll contact you to let you know what they've decided. This will be one of three things:

• your complaint is upheld – meaning the council did something wrong
• your complaint is partially upheld – meaning the council did something wrong
• your complaint is not upheld – meaning the council did not do anything wrong

If we did something wrong, we'll apologise and tell you what we'll do to put things right.

The investigating officer will also tell you how to move to stage 2 of the complaints process if you're not happy with the investigation.

If you’re unhappy with our response and want to take your complaint further, you must let us know. You’ll need to do this within 20 working days of us completing stage 1.

A senior council officer will look at your complaint. They will not work in the service you’re complaining about.

The investigating officer will contact you as soon as possible, usually within one working day. They'll double check the details of your complaint and why you want a stage 2 investigation.

They'll also decide when they'll respond to your complaint by, and agree that date with you. It will not be any longer than 20 working days from the date they contact you. If it's not possible to meet this deadline, the investigating officer will contact you and let you know.

The investigating officer will look into your complaint and send a report to the Head of Service for the service you're complaining about. The Head of Service will look at the report and make a decision about your complaint. This will be one of three things:

• your complaint is upheld – meaning the council did something wrong
• your complaint is partially upheld – meaning the council did something wrong
• your complaint is not upheld – meaning the council did not do anything wrong

If we did something wrong, we'll apologise and tell you what we'll do to put things right.

If you’re still unhappy, you can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO). You can also complain to the LGSCO if we refuse to take your complaint to stage 2, because we’ve already apologised and offered a way to fix the problem.

The LGSCO investigates complaints made to councils. It looks at whether the council did something wrong, for example when making a decision or providing a service. It also looks at whether there were any problems with how your complaint was handled.

You can visit the LGSCO website to find out more and make a complaint.