Dear Sir or Madam,

Pre-question clarification: A complaint against a council may
consist purely on an administrative error or it may also include a
potentially criminal act and/or infringements of a complainants
civil rights (legal and/or human rights).

Therefore, I would like the following information, over the last 12
months, as a percentage of total complaints against the council how
many ended up being dealt with by,

1)the Local Government Ombudsman?

2)the Police?

3)Solicitors and/or the courts?

Yours faithfully,

Trevor R Nunn

Your application for Freedom of Information has been received.

Your application reference is 101000282590

Chief Executive's Directorate

Mr Nunn Strategic Intelligence
[FOI #3441 email] Room L10
County Hall
Topsham Road
Exeter
EX2 4QD

Tel: 01392 384678
Email: [Devon County Council request email]
Fax: 01392 383165

6 October 2008

Dear Mr Nunn

Freedom of Information Request: 101000280282590

I am in receipt of your request dated 5 October 2008 for information
held by Devon County Council about complaints against the Council and
who dealt with them.

You are entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to be
informed whether or not the information you have requested is held by
Devon County Council and if so to be given access to that information
within 20 working days (subject to any exemptions).

You will receive a response to your request by 31 October 2008

Yours sincerely

Sue Block
Freedom of Information Team

Sue Block
Information Management Support Officer
Devon County Council
Room L10
County Hall
Topsham Road
Exeter EX2 4QD
Tel: 01392 384678
[email address]
Disclaimer: http://www.devon.gov.uk/email.shtml
"Devon County Council accepts no legal responsibility for the contents
of this message.
The views expressed do not reflect those of Devon County Council"

Dear Mr Nunn

Request reference: 101000282590

Thankyou for your request for information. You asked some questions regarding the handling of complaints against the council over the last 12 months and I am able to provide the following information.

You asked: As a percentage of total complaints against the council how many ended up being dealt with by,
1) The Local Government Ombudsman?
The Ombudsman's findings are a matter of public record and each year he publishes statistics for every local authority in England. In recent years he has begun writing an annual letter to every Council with comments on the complaints against each and how they were dealt with. These letters are also public documents and the latest for Devon is at: http://www.lgo.org.uk/letters/2007-08/pd...
In Devon all maladministration findings have for the past 20 years been reported to the responsible committee of the Council. Since 2001 these reports have gone to the Executive and the Standards Committee and are considered in public session. Part of that consideration is the action to be taken in response to the ombudsman's recommended remedy. Since 1999 we have made an annual report to the Executive on the past year's cases and the last such report is on the internet here: http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/democracyc...

2) The Police?, and 3) Solicitors and/or the courts?
It is not possible to provide an accurate response to these aspects of your enquiry. Data held in directorate systems is stored by unique customer by customer case reference. Therefore to find any complaints that may have been referred to police, solicitors or courts would require a significant amount of work, estimated to exceed the limit set out within the Act.*
There are further areas of complication. Where, for example, we receive a complaint that we deem to need the attention of the police then it is referred immediately and becomes a police case. In these circumstances it is unlikely to be recorded as a complaint to the Council.
In regard of our statutory complaints systems, we can find no instances for the period you request, where a complaint has been accepted and then been discontinued due to the complainant subsequently taking legal action, or the police being involved.
There was one statutory complaint within the period that was suspended whilst a police investigation took place. The complaint then continued once police investigations were concluded.

I hope this information is of use.

* £450 (18hrs work @ £25 per hour). This limit has been set by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.

If you have any complaints in respect of your information request, please write to our Freedom of Information Office, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, EX2 4QJ or complete the on-line complaint form that can be found at www.devon.gov.uk. If your complaint is not resolved to your complete satisfaction, you have the right to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely

Jay Hooper
Business Manager
Finance, IT & Trading and Personnel & Performance Directorates
Tel: 01392 383634
[mobile number]
Audio Conf: 0800 7836004 participant code 10060047#
E-mail [email address]