What Happens Next - Complaints Policy

Stage one - Formal Complaint

If you make a formal complaint an appropriate Manager will deal with your problem.  You will receive an acknowledgement within 5 working days of receipt of your complaint and a full reply within a further 10 working days.  However, if we are unable to respond fully within these timescales, we will notify you and provide a response as soon as possible.

Stage two - Referral

If you are not satisfied with our response after Stage 1, you can ask the appropriate Director to investigate.  Within 10 working days of this you will receive a further reply or you will be informed of the progress being made.

Stage three - Review

After Stage 2, if you are not satisfied then you can refer the complaint to the Chief Executive.  The Chief Executive may then instigate an independent investigation by an officer of the Council not previously involved in the complaint, and will respond to you directly.

Local Government Ombudsman

The County Council internal Complaints procedure ends at Stage 3.  If you are still not satisfied you can contact the Local Government Ombudsman.  The Ombudsman will not look at the merits of your complaint but may investigate how the County Council has dealt with it.

You can contact the Ombudsman at the following:
Tel: 0845 602 1983
Email: advice@lgo.org.uk
Or by following this link to the website.