Complaints procedure

The corporate complaints procedure:

• is used for most complaints
• has 3 stages - the final stage is a hearing of our regulation and review committee

The children social care procedure:

• is a statutory procedure
• has 3 stages - including an independent investigation at stage 2 and hearing by an independent review panel at stage 3
• has statutory timescales

Adult social care and public health complaints are dealt with:

• under a 1 stage statutory procedure
• on an individual basis - agreed with the complainant

We will :

• record your complaint
• send you a receipt setting out which process it will follow
• give you a reference number and contact details should you need to get in touch with us
• tell you the likely timescales
• give you the chance make sure we have understood your complaint correctly
• allocate your complaint to the most appropriate person
• respond to you in writing - clearly setting out the findings of the investigation
• tell you about any action we'll take as a result
• advise you what to do if you are not satisfied and how you can escalate your complaint

All complaints are dealt with in confidence at every stage, but information will inevitably be shared for the purpose of investigating your complaint.

The information you provide will:

• be recorded on computer
• be treated by us as confidential under the requirements of the Data Protection Act
• where appropriate, used by us for the effective administration of official business and other official purposes

We can:

• give you information in other languages and in different formats, such as large print
• help you if you have problems with reading or writing
• offer you an interpreter or translator
• help you find independent advice

If you've gone through our complaints process and are still not satisfied contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman or Housing Ombudsman.

They investigate complaints about Councils and are independent, unbiased, free and aim to put things right if they have gone wrong.