Our corporate complaints procedure is set out below. For social care complaints procedures please see the Adults and Children's pages. If you would like to make a complaint, please see our Complaints page.
Page contents
- How long does the complaints process take?
- Time limit for making a complaint
- Stage 1: Initial response
- Stage 2: Final review
- Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO)
- Tell us about your complaints experience
How long does the complaints process take?
- For Stage 1: Initial response we aim to provide you with a full response within 10 working days.
- For Stage 2: Final review the response may take 20 days from the time the investigator has received all relevant information from you.
You will be informed if we are unable to keep to the above timescales.
Stage 1: Initial response
At Stage 1, your complaint will be reviewed by an experienced officer from the relevant service area. If your complaint involves more than one Council service, we’ll make sure our teams work together to give you a coordinated and complete response.
You will receive an acknowledgement within 3 working days of receipt of your complaint. We aim to provide a full response within 10 working days and hope to resolve most complaints at this stage. However, if we need longer we will let you know.
Stage 2: Final review
If you are not satisfied with the response you received at Stage 1, you can ask us to review your complaint again at Stage 2, which is the final stage of our complaints process.
To help us consider your request fairly, we will ask you to explain:
- Why you remain dissatisfied with the Stage 1 response
- What outcome you’re seeking
- Any new or relevant information that may not have been considered before.
We ask that you submit your Stage 2 request within 20 working days from the day you received our Stage 1 response. This helps ensure that the matter is still recent and can be reviewed effectively.
Time limit for making a complaint
We ask that complaints are made within 12 months of the issue taking place.
If there’s a good reason why you couldn’t contact us sooner, and we’re still able to look into the matter fairly and thoroughly, we may be able to consider your complaint.
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO)
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of our Stage 2 response, you have the right to contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO). The Ombudsman is independent and investigates complaints about Councils and other adult social care providers. You can contact the LGSCO if you believe we have not handled your complaint properly or fairly.
You can find more information or make a complaint on the website. The Ombudsman usually expects you to complete the council’s complaints process before contacting them.