Complaints, compliments and comments

Councillor complaints

Anyone can make a complaint about a councillor or a co-opted member breaching the Code of Conduct.

Make a complaint

To complain about a councillor:

  1. Complete the complaints form.
  2. Submit your completed form to us by post or email to the details listed on this page.
  3. We'll acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 5 working days of receiving it.
  4. We'll consult with an independent person and decide whether the matter should be rejected, dealt with informally, or investigated further. We aim to decide on your complaint within 20 working days of receiving it.
  5. As a matter of fairness and natural justice, the councillor is usually told who has complained about them. In exceptional circumstances, your identity will be withheld.
  6. If we decide to investigate your complaint, an investigating officer will be appointed who will produce a draft report for you and the councillor to comment on. These comments will be taken on board before the final report is issued.
  7. We'll consider the outcome of the report. We may decide to deal with the complaint informally or refer the complaint to a local hearing.

Complain about a councillor

Why we reject complaints

Your complaint will be rejected if:

  • It's about the policies or performance of the council or an individual officer - you'll need to complain about general council services instead
  • The councillor was not in office at the time of the alleged breach of the code of conduct
  • The complaint, if proven, was not a breach of the code of conduct that was in force at the time

Your complaint must be made in writing using the complaint form and sent by post or email to the monitoring officer.