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Complaints Procesure

Shobrooke Parish Council

Complaints procedure

This complaints procedure will be adopted for dealing with complaints about the Council’s administration or its procedures.  It does not cover complaints about the conduct of a Parish Councillor.

  1. All formal complaints must be in writing.
  2. The complainant will be asked if they wish the complaint to be treated confidentially. In any event the council will comply with its obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 to safeguard against the unlawful disclosure of personal data.
  3. The Parish Councils procedure is available on the Councils website and a copy can be supplied in accordance with the Councils publication guide.
  4. The written complaint should be sent to the Parish Clerk (Jane Hole, The Cellar, Pump Street, Newton St Cyres, Exeter, EX5 5BY or shobrookepc@outlook.com). If the complaint concerns the Clerk, then it should be sent to the chairman of the Parish Council.
  5. The receipt of your complaint will be acknowledged within five working days.
  6. Your complaint will be dealt with by a nominated Parish Councillor.
  7. The nominated Parish Councillor will need to investigate the facts of the complaint and collate relevant evidence.  This will be done as soon as possible and within 30 days from the receipt of the complaint.
  8. The complainant will be offered the opportunity to attend a meeting with the nominated Parish Councillor (and the Clerk if required) to make a verbal representation and may be accompanied by a friend or colleague at the meeting. Before the meeting the complainant shall provide the nominated Parish Councillor with any new information or other evidence relevant to the complaint and the nominated Parish Councillor shall provide the complainant with new information or evidence relevant to the complaint.
  9. At the meeting the nominated Parish Councillor will explain how the meeting will proceed. The complainant should outline the grounds for complaint and thereafter questions may be asked by the nominated Parish Councillor.  The nominated Parish Councillor will have an opportunity to explain the councils position and questions may be asked by the complainant.  The nominated Parish Councillor and then the complainant will have the opportunity to summarise their respective positions.  The complainant should be advised when a decision about the complaint is likely to be made and when it is likely to be communicated to them.  
  10. After the complaint has been heard, the Clerk will write to the complainant to let them know the outcome of the meeting and whether or not their complaint has been upheld. The letter should give reasons for the decision together with details of any action to be taken by the council if this is appropriate.
  11. The decision should be communicated to the complainant within ten days of the meeting taking place.
  12. If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome they have a right of appeal to a panel of Councillors consisting of the Chair, Vice-Chair and one other Parish Councillor (the appeal panel will not have been involved with the first complaint hearing). The complainant must appeal within ten days from the date of the e-mail/letter informing them of the decision.  The decision of the appeal panel is final.
  13. If a complaint is upheld, the Council will consider its policies/procedures and review to see if any changes are necessary

June  2016

Reviewed May 2022

 

Parish Council Policies