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COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
September 2018
Issued by
Leadership Support and Community Town Hall, Station Road,
Clacton-on-Sea, Essex CO15 1SE
Tendring District Council seeks to provide quality, cost-effective services to the people of Tendring and welcomes feedback and suggestions from service users. We are constantly working to improve the services we provide and, if you believe you have not received a proper level of service, please tell us about it. Your complaints provide us with information not only about where things may be going wrong, but also about what you think of us. They are a useful way for us to monitor and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of all our services.
The purpose of this guide is to tell you:
How to complain to the Council;
How we will deal with your complaint; and
What to do if you remain dissatisfied.
If you feel the Council has done something wrong or badly, or failed to do something, the first thing you should do is contact the officer you have been dealing with. You should ask them to put things right for you or explain the reasons for the Council’s failure to do what you expected. If you remain dissatisfied, you may wish to make a formal complaint by completing the attached Complaints Form and send it to the relevant Department.
To help us deal with your complaint effectively, you will need to tell us:
What the problem is and how it has occurred
How it has affected you
What you consider we should do now to put the matter right
We can assist you if you have a disability which prevents you from making your complaint in writing and we can also help if English is not your first language. If you need any support in completing the complaints form, please let us know as soon as possible.
A complaint must be about something specific, for example:
the standard of service provided by the Council
failure by the Council to provide an agreed service
failure by the Council to respond to a request for a service
that the Council has exceeded its powers
that the attitude or conduct of an officer has been unacceptable
the Council has not followed an agreed procedure
maladministration by the Council (ie delay, bias or confusion)
This procedure does not cover:
requests for a service;
requests for information or an explanation of Council policy or practice;
matters for which there is an existing right of appeal (either within the Council itself or to an independent tribunal) or legal remedy;
complaints made more than 6 months after the events complained about.
Complaints brought after this 6 month time limit will not be considered unless there are exceptional circumstances why the
complaint was not brought within the time limit. Whether there are exceptional circumstances will be determined by the Council’s Monitoring Officer.
Complaints about Councillors must be brought under the separate “Complaints about Councillors” procedure available from the Council’s website www.tendringdc.gov.uk or the reception area of any Council offices.
If you are not sure which department deals with your particular complaint, please contact Leadership Support (details below).
E-mail: eridout@tendringdc.gov.uk
Complaints vary widely in nature and complexity and in dealing with any complaints made in accordance with the Complaints Procedure, we will seek to apply three basic principles:
To investigate a complaint as quickly and fairly as possible.
To provide you with a substantive response which outlines the findings of the enquiries (or investigation where appropriate) and, wherever possible, resolves the matter to your reasonable satisfaction.
To keep the stages of the Complaints Procedure, as set out below, separate from each other
You should first contact the officer you have been dealing with and explain the issue to them. The officer you talk to may be able to help you there and then, or at least indicate if the matter can be resolved.
Stage 1 - Formal Written Complaint
If you are not satisfied with the response you have received, you should complete ALL the questions on the Complaints Form and send this to the relevant Department. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days of receipt and you will be provided with a substantive response within 15 working days of receipt. The matter will be looked into by a manager within the department other than whoever you have already been dealing with. If longer is needed to complete the investigation, you will be informed of this in writing and provided you with reasons. Where appropriate, the Council may ask a manager in another Department to investigate a particular complaint.
Stage 2 - Review by the Chief Executive or someone appointed to act on his behalf
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of Stage 1, you can write to the Chief Executive and ask him to review your complaint.
E-mail: idavidson@tendringdc.gov.uk
You should do this within 28 days of the date of the response provided under Stage 2. The Chief Executive will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days of receipt and will provide you with a substantive response within 20 working days of receipt. The Chief Executive may ask another officer to
undertake the review on his behalf and, if your complaint relates to the Chief Executive, the Monitoring Officer or another Corporate Director will review the complaint.
After stage 2 has been completed, if you are still not satisfied, you have the right to refer your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. This is an independent person who looks into complaints of maladministration (bad practice) against local authorities. The Ombudsman will usually want to know if your complaint can be resolved locally, so you should follow the steps in the Complaints Procedure first. The Ombudsman who deals with Tendring District Council can be contacted at:-
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman PO Box 4771
Coventry CV4 0EH Tel 0300 061 0614
A booklet explaining how to refer matters to the Ombudsman is available from Council offices.
Complaints from council tenants about the Council in its capacity as a social landlord (such as the landlord of a council house or flat) are subject to a different statutory regime after stage 2 has been completed. In those cases, if you are still not satisfied, you can complain to a “designated person” (within the meaning of the Localism Act 2011). The designated person can be a Member of Parliament, a TDC Councillor or panel of tenants. It is their role to help resolve the complaint, refer it to the Housing Ombudsman or they can decline to do either of these things.
A complainant can only approach the Housing Ombudsman direct if more than 8 weeks have passed since stage 2 of TDC’s internal complaints procedure was completed. For further details, please contact TDC’s Customer and Support Manager on 01255 686490.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to deal with social tenant housing complaints.
Housing Ombudsman Service, 81 Aldwych, Londonn WC2B 4HN, tel 0300 111 3000, e-mail and website address infor@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
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What do you consider the Council has done wrong or failed to do?
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What do you consider the Council has done wrong or failed to do?
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How has the problem affected you?
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How has the problem affected you?
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What should the Council do to put things right?
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What should the Council do to put things right?
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Who have you spoken to about this and when? Please quote any reference numbers
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Who have you spoken to about this and when? Please quote any reference numbers
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Signed: …………………………………………………………………. Dated : ……………………… (To be signed by the person making the complaint)
Department | Address and Telephone |
Operational Services Responsibility for disabled facilities grants, housing enforcement, gypsy/travellers, houses in multiple occupation, fire safety, housing strategy and development, homelessness, allocations, rents, sheltered housing, Careline, CCTV, housing maintenance, estates management, tenant relations, building services, dangerous structures, leisure centres, swimming pools, joint use centres, theatres entertainments, events, tourism and tourist information centres, facilities management and telephony. Also responsible for pollution and environmental control, port health licensing, waste collection and recycling, street sweeping, public conveniences, dog/pest control, coast maintenance, highways/transport liaison, engineering services, coastal capital projects, food safety, inspections/advice/enforcement, health and safety inspections/advice/enforcement, grounds maintenance, public open space and play areas, crematorium, cemeteries, licensing, off street car parking, abandoned vehicles, seafront management, beach huts and fleet management. | Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton on Sea, Essex CO15 1SE Tel: 01255 68651 |
Planning and Regeneration Responsibility for development management, the local plan and planning policy, heritage and conservation, enforcement, S106 agreements, land charges, planning administration, and building control. Responsibility of regeneration including for inward investment and growth including funding and delivering major projects, town centre support, economic development, skills and employability, strategic tourism, marketing, business support and community development and support. | Council Offices, Thorpe Road, Weeley, Essex CO16 9AJ Tel: 01255 686596 |
Corporate Services Responsibility for budget management, accountancy, exchequer, procurement, insurance, community projects and community safety, revenues and benefits, fraud, internal audit, risk, emergency planning, corporate asset management, corporate GIS, corporate IT, corporate legal advice, service legal support, human resources advice, workforce planning and development, career track. | Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton on Sea, Essex CO15 1SE Tel: 01255 686315 |
Also responsible for Council, Cabinet and Committee services, Overview and Scrutiny, elections and electoral registration, corporate business, project and performance management, public relations and Website and Intranet. | |
Chief Executive and Leadership Support and Community Community support, Chairman, Member support, Chief Executive’s Office | Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton on Sea, Essex CO15 1SE Tel: 01255 686520 |