Complaints procedure
Local authorities hold and provide data such as information about local planning applications.
For more information on the process, see the headings below:
Complain initially to the local authority
Taking the complaint further
Role of the Local Government Ombudsman
How to complain
Where to complain
What happens next
Decisions and outcomes
Complain initially to the local authority
Complaints about this service should be addressed to a member of staff or the service manager. Contact information for this and other council services is listed on the local authority's website or in the phone book.
A service manager will normally send a written reply within a certain number of working days from receiving the complaint.
If this doesn't satisfy the complaint, the consumer should contact the authority's complaints officer. The complaints officer will confirm that they have received the complaint and, after investigation with the department concerned, they will send a written reply. The local authority will be committed to responding to a complaint within a set number of days. Again, local circumstances vary slightly - contact the local authority for full details.
If the local authority's complaints procedure has been exhausted and the complaint is not more than a year old the complaint can be taken to The local government Ombudsman. When the matter is not urgent, the Ombudsman may consider complaints which have not been through the authority's complaints process.
Role of the Local Government Ombudsman
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about local councils, independently of both central and local government - so the investigations are impartial.
For more information about the Ombudsman, click here.
The Ombudsman can only investigate complaints of maladministration that cause injustice, suffering or hardship. This means they can only take up complaints about the way an organisation has done something, or not done something it should have done. Examples of the type of complaint it can investigate are:
- Delay or neglect in responding to enquiries or providing a service
- Failure to follow the agreed policies, rules or procedures of the organisation
- Rudeness, discrimination or unhelpfulness of officials
- Incorrect and/or misleading information and advice given by officials
- Failure of officials to provide advice and information.
The Ombudsman cannot deal with the following types of complaints:
- A complaint which could go, or has already gone, to a court or tribunal or where a government minister is involved
- A complaint about something that affects all or most of the inhabitants in a local area - for example, a complaint that the council has wasted public money
- Court proceedings
- Contracts for the supply of goods and services to the council
- Personnel policies and practices of an organisation within the remit of the local government Ombudsman.
For general help and assistance before submitting a complaint contact the Ombudsman's advice line on 0845 602 1983.
Complaints should be made in writing. A form is available here, which can be submitted online or downloaded and sent in with attachments. Letters are also accepted. Supporting documents or copies of documents should also be included.
If the consumer has real difficulty in writing a complaint, officials will take a complaint over the phone. Translations can also be provided.
There are three Local Government Ombudsmen in England. Complaints should be sent to the office of the Ombudsman who deals with the relevant area. The Ombudsman will, however, pass on complaints to the right office.
For complaints about London boroughs north of the river Thames (including Richmond but not Harrow or Tower Hamlets), Essex, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Suffolk and Coventry City:
Tony Redmond
Local Government Ombudsman
10th Floor, Millbank Tower
Millbank
London SW1P 4QP
Email: enquiries@lgo.org.uk
Tel: 020 7217 4620
Fax: 020 7217 4621
For complaints about the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Birmingham City, Solihull MBC, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire and the north of England (except the cities of Lancaster, Manchester and York).
Anne Seex
Local Government Ombudsman
Beverley House
17 Shipton Road
York YO30 5FZ
Email: enquiries@lgo.org.uk
Tel: 01904 380 200
Fax: 01904 380 269
For complaints about London boroughs south of the river Thames (except Richmond) and Harrow; the cities of Lancaster, Manchester and York; and the rest of England not included in the areas of Tony Redmond and Anne Seex.
Jerry White
Local Government Ombudsman
The Oaks No 2
Westwood Way
Westwood Business Park
Coventry CV4 8JB
Email: enquiries@lgo.org.uk
Tel: 024 7682 0000
Fax: 024 7682 0001
In Wales, the Ombudsman can be contacted at:
Public Services Ombudsman For Wales,
1 Ffordd yr Hen Gae,
Pencoed,
CF35 5LJ
Web: www.ombudsman-wales.org.uk
Email: ask@ombudsman-wales.org.uk
Tel: 01656 641 150
Fax: 01656 641 199
- A copy of the complaint will usually be sent to the authority
- When the Ombudsman has received a complaint, they will usually write to acknowledge it within five working days, explaining what will happen next
- If the Ombudsman thinks it is appropriate, they will investigate the complaint
- Someone from the Ombudsman's office might visit the consumer
- In some cases, the Ombudsman might be able to help achieve an informal agreement with the organisation being complained about. In other cases, the Ombudsman may have to issue a report, in which the consumer will not be named. The organisation being complained about will usually have to make the report available to the public.
If the Ombudsman finds the complaint is justified, they will give recommendations on how to sort out the problem. The actions the Ombudsman might ask for include:
- An apology
- Compensation
- Improved administrative procedures
- Putting the problem right.
The Ombudsman has no power to force the organisation to take any of these steps, but organisations do usually agree with the recommendations.
