Council Complaints Leaflet

Comments, compliments or
complaints about Council services

This booklet tells you how to give your comments,
compliments or complaints about the Council.
We welcome all feedback so that we know where we
could make our services better or where our current
services are meeting your needs.
You can send us your feedback:
through our website
www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk
by email
[email address]
by telephone
01344 352000
by letter (see address on pages 11 and 12)
by using the feedback form at the back of this booklet
or at a reception area
1

Charter for customers
In providing services, Bracknell Forest Council will:
• Always put you first and treat you fairly and as an individual
• Adopt a friendly and approachable style
• Be open, straightforward and listen to you
• Provide well trained staff who will deal with your enquiry in an
efficient and sensitive manner
• Deal with your request at the first point
of contact where possible
• Take ownership of your enquiry
• Ensure that you are advised of
all relevant timescales
• Treat the personal information
received from you in the strictest
confidence
• Conduct regular surveys to obtain
your feedback
• Take notice of, act on and learn from
your feedback
• Continually aim to improve our
service and performance
2

Our commitment to you
Bracknell Forest Council is committed to providing quality services. We welcome
your comments and compliments because they let us know when we have
provided a good service. For example, that could be:
• a quick service;
• some useful advice;
• a member of staff who was particularly helpful or;
• where the service you received was better than you had expected.
If, however you think that we could do better, please let us know where we need to
improve. Where we have made a mistake, please let us know so we can learn and
make changes to stop it happening again. A complaint could refer to an occasion
when we have:
• not provided a good service;
• done something wrong;
• not done something we should have;
• not done something in time, or within the time promised or;
• not treated a person in a professional manner.
Later, in this booklet you will find details of our complaints procedure.
3

How do you make a complaint?
We hope to resolve complaints at the earliest opportunity.   If this is not possible,
our complaints procedure has four stages and at each stage your complaint will be
considered by someone different.   If your complaint is about an education or social
services issue, please turn to page 6.
If your complaint is because you feel that you have been discriminated against on
whatever grounds, your complaint should go straight to stage 3, and you should
write to the director of the service area involved.
Firstly ... Stage 1
We want to put things right as quickly as possible and this may usually be done if
you speak directly to the staff providing the service first.   For example, if your
complaint is about a library or a sports centre, you should first speak to the staff at
the site.  If you are unhappy with the response, please ask to speak with an
operations manager who will try to resolve the matter for you.
If you are still unhappy after discussing the matter with the staff providing the
service then you should complain by following stage 2 of the procedure.
Stage 2
To start this stage, contact the manager or Chief Officer of the service area you wish
to complain about.  You may do this by using the form attached inside the back
cover of this booklet; by the Council’s web-site, by e-mail, letter or telephone.   We
will ensure website, e-mail, letters and telephone complaints get to the service
manager.   If you choose not to use the form, please make sure that you have
covered all the points included in the form.   A list of contact details are printed on
pages 11 and 12 of this booklet.
If you need help with your complaint, you may contact the Council’s Customer Services
and ask them to write down your complaint for you.  Or, the Citizen’s Advice Bureau will
help you.  Please make sure that you agree with what has been written down.
4

Once we receive your complaint, we will investigate and within ten working days send
you a full written reply, or let you know if our reply will take longer, explaining the reason
for the delay.
If we do not hear from you within ten working days of our final reply, we will close the
complaint.
Stage 3
We hope that by now we would have resolved your complaint.   However, if we
haven’t, you should write to the director of the service area within ten working days,
asking for your complaint to be investigated further.   This will then become a
complaint at stage 3 of the procedure.
The director will personally investigate your complaint or appoint a Chief Officer or
senior manager who has not previously been involved, to investigate.   Again, within
ten working days, we will send you a full written reply, or let you know if our reply
will take longer, explaining the reason for the delay.
If we do not hear from you within ten working days of our final reply, we will close
the complaint.
Stage 4 - And if you are still not satisfied ...
If you feel that your complaint has still not been resolved, you may write to the Chief
Executive of the Council, within ten working days of the director’s reply, explaining
why you are not yet satisfied.   The Chief Executive will consider whether your
complaint has already been dealt with properly, and if so, will write to let you know.
If not, a review panel will be set up to deal with your complaint.
The panel will review the findings of the director at stage 3 of the procedure, but will
not carry out further investigation.  A review panel will consist of two independent
people and a borough councillor and you will be invited to attend to present your
complaint.
The review panel will make recommendations to the Chief Executive as to whether
or not your complaint should be upheld, and if so, what remedial action, if any, the
Council should take.  The Chief Executive will, following consideration of the report
of the review panel, make a final decision on your complaint.
5

Do all complaints follow this procedure?
Some complaints are covered by other procedures and as a general rule you should
not use the procedure described in this booklet for:
Complaints about social services
By law, these must be dealt with under a separate procedure.   You should contact
either:
Adult social care
The Complaints Manager, Adult Social Care, Social Care & Learning
Time Square 4th Floor, Market Street, Bracknell, RG12 1JD
Telephone: 01344 351737
Freephone (24-hour answerphone): 0800 169 4491
email : [email address]
Children’s social care
The Complaints Manager, Social Care & Learning
Seymour House, 38 Broadway, Bracknell, RG12 1AU
Telephone: 01344 352119
Freephone (24-hour answerphone): 0800 169 4491
email: [email address] or
[email address]
Complaints about schools
Complaints regarding schools are dealt with by school governing bodies.   The first
step is to contact the headteacher of the school.
There are also special arrangements for:
Appeals about admission to, or exclusion from school
Appeals about special educational needs provision
Complaints about the curriculum, religious education and collective worship
A separate booklet is available for these complaints.   To receive a copy, or further
advice, please contact Social Care & Learning on 01344 352000.
6

Other ways of complaining
Your local borough councillor
You may ask your local borough councillor to take up the matter.   However, for
more serious complaints, they will probably suggest that you use the procedure
within this booklet.  A list of councillors is available on the Council’s website or by
telephoning 01344 352000.
The Local Government Ombudsman
We aim to resolve your complaint.   However, if you are not satisfied with our final
response, you may contact the Local Government Ombudsman at:
The Local Government Ombudsman
10th Floor, Millbank Tower, London, SW1P 4QP
Telephone: 020 7217 4620
Website: www.lgo.org.uk
The Ombudsman will expect you to have given us a chance to look at your
complaint before they will investigate.   So please make sure you have followed the
procedure outlined in this booklet before you contact the Ombudsman.   The
Ombudsman provides a booklet and information on their web-site about how he will
operate.
7

Will my complaint remain confidential?
We want you to feel comfortable about making a complaint about Council services.
Your complaint is personal to you, and your name, address and details of your
complaint will remain confidential to the Council employees who are carrying out the
investigation.
If you believe that we have not handled your personal information in an acceptable
way, you should first write to:
The Information Compliance Officer, Legal Services
Easthampstead House, Town Square, Bracknell, RG12 1AQ
Telephone: 01344 352000
The Information Commissioner
If you believe that you may have been affected by the way we have handled your
personal data then you may write to the Information Commissioner.   The
Information Commissioner is an independent authority that oversees and enforces
compliance with both the Data Protection Act 1998 and Freedom of Information Act
2000.  The Commissioner has the power to prosecute people who have
committed an offence under this legislation.
The Information Commissioner may be contacted at:
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545700
Web-site: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
Whistle-blowing
The Council has adopted a separate procedure to deal with situations where a
member of staff, a contractor engaged by the Council or tendering for a contract to
be awarded by the Council, or a member of staff employed by a contractor, wishes
to draw to the attention of the Council some illegality, impropriety, breach of
contract standing orders or financial regulations or something which places the
Health and Safety of someone at risk.  Concerns should be addressed to the
Borough Solicitor at Easthampstead House, Town Square, Bracknell, RG12 1AQ.
Details of the procedure can be found on the Council's web-site www.bracknell
forest.gov.uk
8

Code of Conduct for councillors
and other protocols
The Council has adopted a Code of Conduct governing the conduct of its
councillors.  The Council has also adopted various other protocols relating to
councillors, including a protocol on how councillors should conduct themselves in
relation to planning applications.   Complaints that a councillor has acted in breach
of the Code of Conduct or a protocol are dealt with under a separate procedure
and are usually determined by the Council's Standards Committee.   Any person
wishing to make such a complaint should contact the Borough Solicitor at
Easthampstead House, Town Square, Bracknell, RG12 1AQ.   Further information is
available on the Council’s website www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk
9

Where do I send my complaint?
If your complaint is about
Contact
Arts
Environment, Culture and Communities
Benefit
Time Square, Market Street, Bracknell RG12 1JD
Building Control
Telephone: 01344 352000
Car Parks
Minicom: 01344 352045
Cemetery and Crematorium
e-mail: [email address]
Community Centres
Community services
Environmental Health
Forestcare
Grounds maintenance
Highways
Housing register
Housing standards
Housing strategy
Housing support
Land charges
Libraries
Licensing
Pest Control
Planning
Public conveniences
Refuse collection and re-cycling
Footpaths, cycleways and bridleways
Sports and recreation facilities
Street cleaning
Trading standards
Business rates
Corporate Services
Council tax
Easthampstead House, Town Square
Education transport
Bracknell RG12 1AQ
Elections and electoral registration
Telephone : 01344 352000
Registration of births, marriages
Minicom : 01344 352045
and deaths
e-mail : [email address]
Education
(please note the special arrangements
on page 6)
A particular school
Headteacher of the school concerned
Other education services
Social Care and Learning
Youth services
Seymour House, 38 Broadway, Bracknell, RG12 1AU
Telephone : 01344 352000
Minicom : 01344 354141
e-mail : [email address]
continued overleaf
11

If your complaint is about
Contact
Adult or Children’s Social Care
(please note the special arrangements on
page 6)
Adult Social Care
The Complaints Manager
Adult Social Care
Social Care and Learning
Time Square 4th Floor, Market Street,
Bracknell RG12 1JD
Telephone : 01344 351737
Freephone (24-hour answerphone): 0800 169 4491
e-mail : [email address]
Children’s Social Care
The Complaints Manager
Social Care & Learning
Seymour House, 38 Broadway, Bracknell, RG12 1AU
Telephone : 01344 352119
Freephone (24-hour answerphone): 0800 169 4491
e-mail : [email address]
or
childrens.servicescomplaints@
bracknell-forest.gov.uk
If you are not sure about where to complain, please contact Customer Services at
[email address] or telephone 01344 352000.
12

Comments, compliments or complaint form
Your name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Your address:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Postcode:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Daytime telephone number:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Email:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Please provide us with details of your comments or complaint:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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If you are making a complaint, have you suffered any harm or loss as a result?   If so, please
provide details:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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What do you think the Council should do now to put things right?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Have you written or spoken to anyone at the Council about this matter before?   If so, please
provide details  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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If there is not enough room, please use extra sheets of paper. If you have any documents
✄  that relate to your complaint, please send copies with this form.

Confidential
How do we make sure that we treat everyone fairly?
We recognise and value all of the people in Bracknell Forest and want to make sure that
everyone may access our services. The following information we ask for below will only be
used to compile statistics for use in monitoring the complaints procedure or improving the
delivery of the Council’s services.
Are you: Male
Female
Do you have a disability:
No
Yes (please specify) ..............................
What is your age group?
19 or under
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70 and over
What is your ethnic group? (Based on the census ethnic groups)
White
Black or Black British
British
Caribbean
Irish
African
Any other White background
Any other Black background
(please specify) ..............................
(please specify) ..............................
Asian or Asian British
Mixed
Indian
White and Black Caribbean
Pakistani
White and Black African
Bangladeshi
White and Asian
Any other Asian background
Any other mixed background
(please specify) ..............................
(please specify) ..............................
Chinese or other ethnic group
Chinese
Any other ethnic group (please specify) ..............................
What is your religion or belief? (Based on the census religious groups)
None
Christian
(including Church of England, Catholic, Protestant and all other Christian denominations)
Buddhist
Hindu
Jewish
Muslim
Sikh
Any other religion or belief
(please specify) ..............................

Council opening hours
Monday to Friday: 8.30 am to 5.00 pm
Main telephone number
Tel: 01344 352000
Main minicom number
Tel: 01344 352045
Website
www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk
Copies of this booklet may be obtained in large print, Braille, on audio cassette or
in other languages. To obtain a copy in an alternative format please telephone
01344 352000.
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