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Oxfordshire County Council Corporate Complaints Policy
Section No Subject Page
1. Introduction 2
2 Purpose 2
3 Objectives 2
4 How We Value Complaints 2
5 What is a Complaint 2
6 Special Cases 4
7 Who can complain 5
8 Support and Advocacy 5
9 Mediation 5
10 Rights 5
11 Information and Publicity 6
12 Roles and Responsibilities 6
13 Complaints Against Staff 8
14 Cross-Cutting Complaints 8
15 Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting 8
16 How to Complain - Overview 9
17 The Three-Stage Procedure 9
Stage 1 Local stage 9
Stage 2 Formal investigation 10
Stage 3 Review of Stage 2 11
18 Local Government Ombudsman 14
19 Multiple complaints 14
20 Unacceptable behaviour & persistent complaints 14
21 Complaints under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 16
22 Review of policy 17
1. Introduction
This procedure explains the County Council's corporate complaints policy and sets out the stages to be followed when a complaint is received.
It is not for complaints about Children's & Adult Social Care which should be dealt with under the separate statutory procedures, or for complaints about schools which should be dealt with as specified in section 6 (special cases where alternative mechanisms exist for resolving concerns).
2. Purpose
Oxfordshire County Council provides an extensive range of services. It is essential that the people who receive our services feel able to make complaints about them. By taking concerns and complaints seriously, the Council can receive useful feedback so that we can continuously review and improve the services offered by the Council.
3. Objectives
Our objectives are to:
Provide an effective means for members of the public and their representatives to complain if they are dissatisfied in any way with the service they receive.
Provide a procedure that is accessible, open and fair to all members of the public.
Ensure complaints are dealt with in a courteous and efficient manner and are resolved without avoidable delay.
Maintain records of complaints made so that regular reviews can be produced for internal monitoring and public accountability.
Learn from complaints so that our services and policies can be improved.
4. How we value complaints
The benefits to the public
A good complaints policy makes it clear to people:
• How they can complain if they want to
• What will happen when they complain
• What they can expect the Council to do as a result of their complaint
• What they can do if they are not happy with the Council's response to the complaint
Benefits to the Council
Complaints also help the Council to see where it might be going wrong and to put things right.
A complaints policy gives our employees the chance to explain the reasons for their actions. It provides a way of dealing with concerned, angry or dissatisfied complainants.
5. What is a complaint?
For the purpose of this policy, a complaint is defined as:
An expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the Council, its staff or contractors.
Expression of dissatisfaction
Complainants approach the Council for a number of different reasons - with queries, comments, requests for services and complaints. All of these can at times be presented in a way that suggests a complaint. However, queries, comments or requests for services should be separated from clear expressions of dissatisfaction and not dealt with through this procedure. Sometimes complainants want to register a comment and do not wish to pursue a formal complaint.
Under this Policy, complaints are expressions of dissatisfaction that might amount to maladministration by the Council. This could, for example, include allegations of delay, unreasonable behaviour by an individual or poor quality services which in all cases directly affects the person making the complaint and that the complaint has arisen as a direct result of the fault of the Council.
Queries
A query is defined as any correspondence, comment or contact from a complainant requesting information and/or seeking clarification about the services the Council provides and its policies and procedures. Queries are not the subject of this procedure.
Requests for service
A member of the public may contact the Council and request a particular service. For example, they may ask for a faulty street lamp to be replaced. In most cases, the complainant will accept that streetlights occasionally develop faults and would only be dissatisfied if the light was not repaired after being reported, or if it had been faulty for a long time with no action. Initial requests for service are not the subject of this procedure
Standard of service
A complainant may complain about the standard of service received because:
the Council has not achieved the standard it says it will provide to the complainant, or
the Council has not achieved the standard a reasonable authority should provide to the complainant.
Actions
This can mean the action of the council as a whole, or someone employed by the Council. It might include:
the Council carrying out its duties in an unsatisfactory way.
unacceptable behaviour (including rudeness, violence or aggression)
from Council staff or contractors.
Lack of action
This might include the Council failing to do something it demonstrably ought to have done
By the Council
The actions or inactions of the Council, its employees or contractors. The Council sometimes receives complaints about other organisations, as part of its normal work. However, these should be dealt with as appropriate. For example, Trading Standards exists partly to enable people to complain about the service they have received from traders. These are not complaints in the context of this complaints policy. Complaints clearly relating to other Councils' services or actions should be relayed to those authorities for them to acknowledge and respond. Complaints about the Council's contractors should be taken up, in the first instance, directly with the contractor through their own complaints procedures.
6. Special cases
Certain types of complaint are not intended to be dealt with by the complaints policy and are more appropriately dealt with through alternative mechanisms or forums which are already available to the complainant. These include but are not limited to:
a complaint where the complainant or the Council has started legal proceedings or has taken court action but not cases where a complainant has simply threatened to start legal proceedings against the Council.
a complaint that is to be dealt with or has already been dealt with by a court, tribunal or other statutory body
a staff complaint about a personnel matter, including appointments, dismissals, pay, pensions and discipline (but not from staff as service users)
a complaint about Council policy, these matters are for the Council's Cabinet or Cabinet Portfolio Holder.
a school admission or exclusion appeal
Oxfordshire County Council also operates statutory complaints procedures under the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 and the Children Act 1989, such complaints will be dealt with through those separate procedures
a complaint about the issue of a penalty charge notice by the parking control service (except administrative issues) and the recovery process thereafter.
complaints about schools should be made to the school concerned and dealt with under the individual school's complaints policy.
a complaint about the conduct of a councillor is the responsibility of the Standards Board of England and Wales. The complaint could be reported initially to the Monitoring Officer for advice on how to address the issue.
a claim for compensation for highway defects where there is a remedy in law
an allegation of criminal or unlawful conduct, fraud or corruption should be made to the Monitoring Officer.
a complaint about the Local Government Pension Scheme, which should be sent to the: Head of Finance, Oxfordshire County Council, County Hall, Oxford. OX1 1TH
complaints by school staff or governors about the local education authority should be dealt with under the Council's internal complaints procedures.
If we cannot review a complaint under this policy, we will explain to the complainant why we cannot do so and inform them of an alternative means of appeal, if appropriate
7. Who can complain?
Anyone who receives or is seeking to receive a service from Oxfordshire County Council can make a complaint. Alternatively, anyone acting on their behalf and with their permission - can make a complaint. We use the term “complainant” in this procedure to refer to those who may make a complaint.
If members of staff have complaints about the Council as an employer these should be made through the grievance procedure, or other internal channels. However, members of staff have the same rights to complain about the actions or services of the Council as other members of the public.
Anonymous complaints may be acted upon at the discretion of the Council.
8. Support and Advocacy
Many people feel daunted at the prospect of making a complaint and are unsure how to go about it, or how best to put their case. They may fear that the Council will withhold services, or treat them less favorably if they complain. Oxfordshire County Council expressly welcomes complaints from all sections of the community and may encourage people to seek support from friends or other representatives who may be able to assist them in making a complaint. The Council will advise people on where to find such assistance, as appropriate.
Assistance will be given where appropriate to people who have difficulty with written or spoken English and to disabled people. People will also be able to make complaints in their own language if this is preferable. The Council's intention is that all members of the public should have full access to the complaints procedures.
9. Mediation
Mediation is the process whereby a mediator seeks to reach common agreement and resolution of the complaint to the satisfaction of both the complainant and the Council. Throughout the complaint procedure, the Council will be open to exploring the possibility of mediation, and will offer it if it is thought that this would more usefully help to resolve the complaint. Any mediator will only be appointed with the agreement of both parties. There may be a cost involved for both sides in appointing a mediator.
10. Rights
Complainants
Our complainants have the right:
to be treated with respect and courtesy at all times.
to have a friend or other representative to help them with their complaint
for their personal details to be held and disclosed solely on a need-to-know basis, in connection with the complaint
to be kept informed of the progress of their complaints
to receive an apology if the Council is at fault
to be informed of any changes to Council policy or procedures
arising from a complaint
Staff
Members of staff have the right:
to be treated with respect and courtesy at all times by complainants.
to have the support of a friend, Trade Union or other representative if
they are the subject of a complaint.
to be made aware of and have the support of, the Council's violence
at work policy and procedure. The Council will not tolerate violence or harassment in any form against its staff.
if the subject of a complaint, to be kept informed of developments in the complaint
a right to confidentiality in relation to any disciplinary matters
11. Information and publicity
Complainants
The complaints policy will be publicised to the Council's complainants
through the Council's complaints leaflet, posters, the Council's web site and articles in Council publications.
All publicity for the procedure will be presented in plain English. Information will be available in the community languages, in large print and on tape on request
Staff
The complaints policy will be explained to all council staff as part of their
induction.
Training on the complaints policy will be made available and relevant staff will be encouraged to undergo this training.
All staff will be made aware of the name of their Directorate Complaints
Co-ordinator, who will give advice on the local application of the policy if required.
The policy will be made available on the Council's Intranet.
Councillors
Councillors will be informed of any Stage 2 complaints within their area, unless the complainant requests otherwise. Such local Councillors receive this information on a “need to know” basis only and do not play a formal part in the complaint process. Councillors informed of any complaint will also be informed of the outcome of the complaint or any action taken by the Council.
12. Roles and Responsibilities - Overview
While the responsibilities for the resolution of complaints are set out for our staff under the appropriate stage headings below, this section gives an overview of all responsibilities in this process.
Officer Receiving the Complaint
The receiving member of staff should attempt to resolve the complaint, or if this is not possible, refer the matter to an appropriate officer to action. An officer receiving a complaint should make the Directorate coordinator aware of the complaint so that it can be recorded and tracked on the Councils complaints recording system, Respond.
Heads of Service are responsible for:
ensuring that the complaints policy is administered effectively within their service areas
ensuring that complaints about their service are monitored and reviewed
identifying and implementing any changes to policies, practices and procedures shown to be necessary as a result of a complaint
Directorate complaints co-ordinators are responsible for:
ensuring that complaints are logged and updated on the Council's complaints recording system, Respond
ensuring a complaint progresses through each stage in accordance with the
procedure and that the Corporate Complaints Office is notified of all key stages of the complaint's progress
ensuring the Corporate Complaints Office is updated of progress in the handling of any complaints processed initially by the Corporate Complaints Office
liaising with other directorate complaints coordinators to ensure that cross-directorate complaints are processed effectively, without duplication
keeping data in accordance with the monitoring requirements of this
procedure
making quarterly reports to the Directorate's Senior Management Team, the portfolio holder and to the Corporate Complaints Office, on complaints received and the performance issues raised
copying quarterly reports to the Monitoring Officer and copying all Stage 2 and 3 responses to the Corporate Complaints Officer
ensuring that where members of staff are complained about they are kept informed of the process
ensuring that Heads of Service are fully informed of complaints in their area
The Corporate Complaints Office in Democratic Services is responsible for:
co-ordinating any complaints received by the Chief Executive and liaising with the relevant directorate complaints co-ordinators
giving advice on the application of the complaints policy generally and in complex or disputed cases
tracking and monitoring all complaints
liaising with the Council's Monitoring Officer on Stage 3 complaints and with the Local Government Ombudsman
ensuring that all stage 3 complaints and complaints referred from the Ombudsman are logged and updated on the Council's complaints recording system, Respond
ensuring that complaints are fully addressed and that complaints procedures are being followed in a timely fashion, alerting the Monitoring Officer of any significant points of concern
making annual monitoring reports to members and the County Council's Management Team on complaints received
advising directorates, in conjunction with the Monitoring Officer if necessary, as to the appropriate procedure (statutory, corporate, internal or none) to be adopted for complaints where there is uncertainty as to their nature
The Monitoring Officer has overall responsibility for the Complaints Policy and for advising on any circumstances where departure from the Policy may be in the best interests of resolving the complaint. The Monitoring Officer can determine alternative means of addressing issues raised by complainants but in all such cases, a full explanation will be given to the complainant.
13. Complaints against staff
If a complaint regarding staff actions or behaviour is found to be valid, it may be appropriate for the matter to be referred to the appropriate corporate human resource procedure (e.g. disciplinary procedure) and investigated and resolved in accordance with those requirements. Where disciplinary action may be taken it may not be possible to inform the complainant about the outcome because of the confidential nature of that procedure.
Where a complaint against a member of staff is upheld then an appropriate manager should respond to the complainant with an apology on behalf of the member of staff in question. The member of staff should be copied into this apology.
14. Cross-cutting complaints
If a complaint involves more than one service or Directorate, the Directorate Complaint(s) Co-ordinators will ensure:
that one lead directorate is nominated to investigate the complaint. The
lead directorate to be decided by the receiving directorate based on the
main focus or content of the complaint.
that an appropriate officer from that directorate is nominated to investigate
and co-ordinate the investigation of that complaint.
that the complainant is informed of this arrangement in the
acknowledgement to this complaint
that the requirements of this procedure are adhered to.
If the complaint concerns the actions or inactions of an external agency, then officers will request that this procedure applies if:
the agency has no complaints procedure
the agency agrees for the complaint to be investigated in accordance with
the Council's procedure
15. Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting
All directorate complaints co-ordinators should keep a record of the following
events:
Date complaint received, acknowledged and responded to
Stage of procedure when complaint resolved
Type of complaint
If supplied, the co-ordinators should also record information relating to ethnicity, age, gender and geographical area to assist the Council in improving its services to complainants:
Information will be reported regularly by the appropriate directorate complaints officer to the Senior Management team of the Directorate and to the Corporate Complaints Office.
The reports will contain a summary of any service issues and action taken to
resolve these as a result of the complaints received.
The Corporate Complaints Office will be responsible for the annual monitoring of the above information for all directorates and will report this, as part of Complainant Services monitoring as appropriate, to:
County Council Management Team
Councillors
Monitoring Officer
These reports will contain a summary of any service issues and action taken to
resolve these as a result of the complaints received.
It should be noted that Heads of Service will have responsibility for monitoring and reviewing all complaints that relate to their service. They are also required to assess the outcomes of the complaint to determine whether any changes in policies, procedures or working practices are appropriate.
16. How to complain - Overview
Anyone who wishes to make an initial complaint may do so in person, by telephone, or in writing (using the Council's complaints form, on-line complaint form, letter, fax or e-mail.) Complaints can be made in person by calling at the Council's offices. The services of an interpreter will be arranged if needed. In cases where the complaint is complex, we may need to require a complaint to be submitted in writing.
Complainants who wish to pursue a complaint to Stage 2 or 3 will be asked to put their complaint in writing or to confirm that a written note of the conversation by the officer taking the phone call accurately reflects the nature of the complaint. In this case the investigation and subsequent timescales will only begin once the complaint has been agreed by the complainant.
All complaints will be acknowledged by letter within five working days, setting out the complaint, who will be responsible for handling the complaint. The letter will also state the date by which a response can be expected.
Complaints in writing can be made on the Council's FREEPOST complaints form, by using the on-line complaint form, by letter, fax or email. Complaints can be made in the complainant's first language, if preferred although we may need to lengthen timescales as a result. The complainant will be informed of progress if this is the case.
Staff are requested, where possible, to ask the complainant what they would consider to be an appropriate and acceptable remedy.
17. The Three-stage procedure
The complaints procedure has three stages. These are:
Stage 1: Local stage: attempt to resolve the complaint at the most local level i.e. by the individual, team or directorate to which the complaint is first made. Where possible, complaints will be put right quickly and informally “on the spot”, and within a few days.
Stage 2: Formal investigation
Where a complainant is still dissatisfied following Stage 1, the complaint will be formally investigated.
Stage 3: Review
If the complainant remains dissatisfied, the complaint can be referred to the Monitoring Officer who will decide whether a hearing should be held.
These stages are described fully below.
Stage 1 (Local Stage)
The person receiving the complaint will ensure that the complaint is recorded on the Council's complaints recording system, Respond, either directly or through the directorate co-ordinator. The person receiving the complaint will either acknowledge the complaint or answer it fully, in writing, within five working days. In any case, the person receiving the complaint should inform the Directorate's complaints coordinator that a new complaint has been received so that it can be appropriately recorded, updated and tracked.
If the complaint cannot be resolved immediately, the complainant will be
advised that further enquiries will be carried out and a response made as
soon as possible and within a further 10 working days. If the complaint
cannot be resolved within 10 working days, the complainant will be informed of the reasons in writing and the complainant will be offered the opportunity to progress to Stage 2.
The full response at Stage 1 will advise the complainant of their
right to move to stage 2 (formal investigation) if they are not satisfied with
the outcome of the service's initial investigations. The complainant should be
advised that if they have not requested a further review within 28 days from the date of the full response letter, the Council will assume that the complainant is satisfied with the Council's response and will take no further action in the matter.
Stage 2 - Formal investigation
The purpose of Stage 2 is to provide a formal investigation of the concern or complaint.
Stage 2 operates:
when a complaint cannot be resolved at Stage 1.
when the person complaining is not satisfied with efforts to
resolve the complaint at Stage 1.
when the complainant wishes - and the appropriate senior manager agrees - to start proceedings at the formal investigation stage
when a complaint is received via the Local Government Ombudsman
when a Director or Head of Service judges the complaint sufficiently serious
to warrant immediate investigation at Stage 2.
A formal complaint should be forwarded to the directorate complaints co-ordinator who will assume responsibility for ensuring that the complaint:
is set out in writing. This could mean asking the complainant to put details of the complaint in writing or preparing a written note of the details of the complaint and asking the complainant to confirm whether it is an accurate reflection of the complaint.
is acknowledged
is forwarded to the `investigating officer' (an appropriate manager
selected, if necessary, in liaison with the Monitoring Officer) for
investigation and response
is logged and recorded (and recording any subsequent remedy
proposed by the investigating officer) on the Council's complaints recording system, Respond, and ensuring that it is progressed within set timescales
Acknowledging complaints
Formal complaints will be acknowledged in writing within 5 working
days of their receipt. The complainant will be advised of the name
and contact details of the investigating officer and provided with
information explaining the formal complaints procedure. They will also be informed that details of their complaint will be passed to their County Councillor for information unless they have objections.
Providing information
The investigating officer will normally require the co-operation of staff
from his/her own service and possibly other services to help
resolve the complaint. Any requested information must be provided
to the investigating officer within 5 working days of his/her request for it.
Full response
A written reply from the investigating officer should normally be provided to the complainant within 10 working days of the acknowledgement of the complaint giving a full response to the issues raised (and any proposed remedy). If, in exceptional circumstances, it is not possible to reply within 10 days, then the complainant (and the Corporate Complaints Office) must be informed of the reasons. A full response must sent then within 20 working days of acknowledgement of the complaint. If a directorate needs more than 20 working days to respond, this must first be agreed with the Monitoring Officer.
The complainant will also be advised that if they are still not satisfied with the response from the service, they can request (within 28 days of the response being sent to them) a further review of their complaint at Stage 3 of the Council's procedure. If nothing is heard from the complainant after the 28th day of the response being sent, it will be assumed that the case is closed.
Stage 3
The purpose of Stage 3 is to review the outcome of the Stage 2 investigation.
A complainant who is unhappy with the response provided under Stage 2 of the procedure may ask the Council's Monitoring Officer, via the Corporate Complaints Office, to arrange for a further review of the complaint.
Acknowledging a request
The Corporate Complaints Office will acknowledge a request for a further review within 5 working days and explain the role of the Monitoring Officer and what will happen next and will ensure the complaint is recorded within the Council's complaints recording system, Respond.
Timescales
The review should be carried out and the complainant informed of the
outcome within 20 working days of receipt of the request for a review. If, in
exceptional circumstances, it is not possible to adhere to this time scale, the
complainant will be informed of the reasons and kept informed of progress,
in writing, at least every 10 working days.
Any recompense made to the complainant where appropriate must be made within reasonable timescales of the complaint being upheld.
Monitoring Officer
The Corporate Complaints Office will pass details of the complaint to the Monitoring Officer. He/she will decide whether the complaint should or should not be reviewed further.
Further review
If the Monitoring Officer decides that there are reasons to review the complaint , he/she will determine the most appropriate method of considering the complaint, given the circumstances of the case. This could include convening a complaints panel to deal independently with the complaint.
Composition of the Panel
Each Panel will consist of three persons: 1 independent person, who will act as Chair, 1 councillor from the appropriate Scrutiny committee, and 1 person nominated by the Monitoring Officer. This may be a senior manager not connected with the service complained about or any other person deemed to have independence of the issues.
Meeting of the Panel
If a Panel is convened, the following procedures will be followed.
The complainant will make a written submission to be considered at the hearing regardless of whether they intend to appear in person. This should reach the Corporate Complaints Office in Democratic Services at least 10 working days before the hearing and will be copied to the Director AND relevant Head of Service, and members of the Panel.
At least 10 working days before the hearing, the relevant Head of Service or appointed representative will supply to the Complaints Office, which will send a copy to the complainant immediately:
a written statement summarising the complaint with any relevant background information;
a written statement summarising the Head of Service's position on the complaint;
copies of any background documents, which are to be put before the Panel at the hearing.
The complainant will be allowed to be present at the hearing and has the right to be represented either by a friend or any other person. The relevant Head of Service or their representative will be required to present the service's views at the hearing and the Panel will have the right to request an interview with any officer involved in the case. Both the complainant and the officers concerned will be advised of the procedures to be followed at the Panel hearing.
The Complaints Office will decide who is to clerk the Panel. The Clerk's role will be to take a note of the proceedings, give procedural advice, write to the complainant and the relevant Head of Service with the Panel's decision, and progress the Panel's findings. During the hearing, the Chair of the Panel will outline the complaint, the outcome of previous investigations and identify the principal issue(s) to be resolved. The complainant and/or their representative will first explain their position and answer any questions. The Head of Service and/or representative will then explain the position of the service concerned and answer any questions put by the Panel or complainant. Witnesses may be called by either the Head of Service or the complainant, provided 10 days notice is given to the Clerk. It is important to note that this is not a formal Court hearing with cross-examination.
Both parties will sum up their case, with the complainant having the final say, and then both parties will leave. The Panel will deliberate on the complaint in private with advice from the Clerk as appropriate. The outcome of the hearing will be based on the majority decision of the Panel. The Panel may adjourn any hearing to receive further evidence, to enable an interested party to attend or for any other appropriate reason.
Decision of the Panel
After the formal hearing, the complainant, Director, Head of Service, Chief Executive and the Monitoring Officer are to be notified in writing by the Clerk of the Panel, within 5 working days, of the findings of the Panel and the reasons for them.
The findings of the Panel are normally the completion of the process and are not open to further debate. If the Panel does not uphold the complaint, the complainant will be reminded of his or her right to pursue the matter with the Local Government Ombudsman.
Where the Panel upholds the complaint, the Director must write to the complainant within 15 working days of receipt of the panel's decision, explaining what action the Directorate proposes to take in meeting the panel's recommendation.
However, where the Director does not accept the Panel's decision, he or she, must (within the 15 days) review the reasons for rejecting the decision with the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer. Following such a review; if the complaint is:
upheld the Director will write to the complainant explaining what action the Directorate proposes to take in meeting the panel's recommendation;
rejected the Director shall write to the complainant providing a statement of the reasons for rejecting the panel's decision and remind the complainant of the right to pursue the matter with the Ombudsman.
The Clerk to the Panel will keep the members of the Panel informed of progress in implementing any remedy decided by the Panel. When completed, the complaint record file will be closed and passed to the nominated officer for monitoring purposes.
Decision at Stage 3
If the Monitoring Officer determines that no further review should be undertaken at Stage 3 of the complaints procedure, the complainant will be advised by the Complaints Officer of his/her right to refer the complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman.
The Monitoring Officer may decline to hold a further investigation if he/she believes that there are good and valid reasons, which may include the following:
he/she feels that the County Council has acted to the full extent of the powers or sanctions available to it and the Council is unable to resolve the complaint to the complainant's satisfaction within the law or within the regulations governing County Council functions; or
he/she feels that all appropriate avenues of investigation have been exhausted and further investigation will not result in a different outcome, or;
he/she finds that the complaint is similar to previous complaints by the complainant and further investigation will not result in a different outcome.
The Monitoring Officer must give reasons for holding or not holding a further investigation at Stage 3.
If a complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome of a review at Stage 3, he/she will be advised of the right to refer the complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman.
18. Local Government Ombudsman
The Local Government Ombudsman will only consider cases in which he or she considers that the complainant has been treated unfairly (that is, some form of `maladministration') which has caused the complainant some form of injustice,
such as a loss, injury or upset. The Ombudsman will normally only consider
complaints, which have been through the Council's complaints
procedure. The Ombudsman cannot question what the Council has done
simply because the complainant does not agree with the outcome; there must be some evidence of actual or potential maladministration.
19. Multiple Complaints
If the Council receives multiple complaints on the same issue, then in the interests of efficiency, the Council reserves the right to deal with the complaints collectively i.e. as if they were a single complaint. The Council will keep all complainants informed of progress.
20. Unacceptable behaviour and unreasonably persistent complaints
The Council is committed to dealing with complaints fairly and impartially and to providing a high quality service to those who make them. However, the Council does not expect its staff to tolerate behaviour by complainants, which is unacceptable for example abusive, offensive or threatening.
Similarly, the Council recognises complaints are often made as a last resort. As part of our service, we will not normally limit the contact complainants have with our offices. However, in the interests of effective use of resources for complainants and the wider public, we may need to restrict access on occasions where contact by a complainant becomes so frequent that it hinders consideration of their, or others', complaints or the provision of the Council's services.
To give clarity in both these scenarios, this Complaints Policy has incorporated the principles adopted by the Commission for Local Government in England (the Ombudsman) in his policies on:
Unacceptable behaviour
Unreasonably persistent complainants
Unacceptable behaviour
When we consider that a complainant's behaviour is unacceptable we will tell them why we find their behaviour unreasonable and we will ask them to change it. If the unacceptable behaviour continues, we will take action to restrict the complainant's contact with our officers.
Where a complainant continues to behave in a way, which is unacceptable, we may decide to terminate contact with that complainant and discontinue any investigation into their complaint.
Where the behaviour is so extreme that it threatens the immediate safety and welfare of the Council's staff, we will consider other options, for example reporting the matter to the police or taking legal action. In such cases, we may not give the complainant prior warning of that action.
Unreasonably persistent complainants
By `unreasonably persistent complainants', we mean those who, because of the frequency of their contact with us hinder our consideration of their or other peoples' complaints. Exceptionally, we will take action to limit the contact that such a complainant has with our offices.
If we decide to carry on treating someone as an unreasonably persistent complainant and we are still investigating their complaint six months later, we will carry out a review and decide if restrictions will continue.
Potential restrictions
The decision to restrict access to our officers will be taken at Monitoring Officer level or above and will normally follow a prior warning to the complainant. Any restrictions imposed will be appropriate and proportionate. The options we are most likely to consider are:
requesting contact in a particular form (for example, letters only);
requiring contact to take place with a named officer;
restricting telephone calls to specified days and times; and/or
asking the complainant to enter into an agreement about their conduct or their future contacts with us, as appropriate.
In all cases where we decide to treat someone as an unreasonably persistent complainant, or consider a person's behaviour unacceptable, we will write to tell the complainant why we believe his or her behaviour falls into that category, what action we are taking and the duration of that action. We will also tell them how they can challenge the decision if they disagree with it.
Where a complainant whose case is closed persists in communicating with us about it, we may decide to terminate contact with that complainant. In such cases, we will read all correspondence from that complainant, but unless there is fresh evidence, which affects our decision on the complaint, we will simply acknowledge it or place it on the file with no acknowledgement.
New complaints from people who have come under the unreasonably persistent complainants policy will be treated on their merits.
The Council reserves the right to review any complaints that may appear to be frivolous or deliberately repetitious. In such cases, the matter will be referred to the Monitoring Officer for determination as to whether the complaint constitutes a misuse of the complaints procedure and whether or not the complaint should be pursued. If the complaint is not pursued, the complainant will be informed in writing of the Monitoring Officer's decision and the reasons for it.
21. Complaints under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004
Members of the public are entitled to request information held by public authorities under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Dissatisfaction with the Council's response to a request for information should be treated as a complaint and dealt with at Stage 1 of the Council's corporate complaints procedure. This may include complaints about the County Council publication scheme, the way a request for information has been handled or the outcome of a request.
A review will be undertaken by a manager who was not involved in making the original decision. The request for a review will be acknowledged within 5 working days of receipt and a full response provided within a further 10 working days.
If the complainant remains unsatisfied with the Council's response, he or she should be advised of the right to refer their complaint to the Information Commissioner.
Outcomes
Where the outcome of a complaint is a decision that information should be disclosed which was previously withheld, the information in question will be disclosed as soon as practicable and the applicant will be informed of how soon this will be.
Where the outcome of a complaint is that the procedures within the Council have not been properly followed by our staff, the Council will apologise to the applicant. The Council will then take appropriate steps to prevent similar errors in future.
Where the outcome of a complaint is that an initial decision to withhold information is upheld, the applicant will be informed of his or her right to apply to the Information Commissioner. The applicant will be given details of how to make such an application.
Information Commissioner
The Information Commissioner is an independent officer who reports directly to Parliament. He can consider complaints about any aspect of the way in which requests for information have been handled or about the Council's obligations to adopt and publish a Freedom of Information Publication Scheme. The Commissioner will not usually investigate a complaint until it has been through a Council's complaints procedure and the Council has had the opportunity to settle matters locally. For more information about the Information Commissioner please contact:
Information Commissioners Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: (01625) 545700
Website: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
22. Review of this policy
This policy will be reviewed by the Monitoring Officer in July 2009
Peter Clark
Monitoring Officer July 2008
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