As misunderstandings can, and do arise; if you wish to make a complaint, please follow the steps outlined below in order to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

If you feel this Council has not acted correctly, or failed to act when it should have done, the first thing you should do is contact the Officer you have been dealing with and ask him/her to rectify the situation or explain why the Council has acted in the way it has.

To help us deal effectively with your complaint you will need to inform us of the following (in writing please):

• What the problem is and how it has occurred
• How it has affected you
• What you consider we should now do to put the matter right

 What can I complain about?

A complaint must be about something specific. It is most likely to be about one or more of the following:

• The standard of service provided by the Council
• Failure by the Council to provide an agreed service
• Failure by the Council to respond to a request for one of its services
• That the Council has exceeded its powers
• That the attitude or conduct of an Officer has been unacceptable
• The Council has not followed an agreed procedure

How will the complaint be dealt with?

Complaints obviously differ both in nature and complexity. But, when dealing with any complaints made in accordance with the Complaints Procedure, three basic principles will apply and we pledge to:

1.         Investigate a complaint as quickly and impartially as possible - this will initially be carried out by the officer concerned.

2.         Provide you with a full response that outlines the findings of the investigation and, wherever possible,

3.         Resolve the matter to your satisfaction.

Please Note: This Complaints Procedure does not cover:  

• Requests for a service
• Requests for information or an explanation of Council policy or practice
• Matters for which there is an existing right of appeal (either within the Council itself or to an independent tribunal) or legal remedy
• Complaints made more than 12 months after the events occurred; unless there are exceptional circumstances as to why the complaint could not have brought within this time

For any of the above, please contact the Town Clerk with your query or concerns. Click here for contact details.

Wisbech Town Council Complaints Procedure

1. Contact is made with the officer involved (as above).

2. If the complaint is not dealt with satisfactorily, please write to the Town Clerk, who will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days of receipt and will provide a full response within 10 working days of receipt.

3. If still unresolved, the complaint should be taken to the Leader of the Council who will endeavour to ensure the complaint is dealt with satisfactorily. You may also contact your local Town Councillors if you wish (please click here for contact details)

4. If further action is necessary you may request that the matter be referred to Full Council for consideration. Your request will be acknowledged within 3 working days of receipt. A full response will be given immediately after the next Full Council meeting (an extra-ordinary meeting may be called should the matter warrant urgency).

What if the problem remains unresolved?

The right exists for you to refer your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman(LGO). This is a free, independent service which looks into complaints about maladministration (bad practice) by local authorities. To consider your complaint the LGO requires that Wisbech Town Council must have been given the chance to sort out the complaint, and you must have completed all stages of the Complaints Procedure as outlined above.

How can I contact the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO)?

For advice on making a complaint, or to make a complaint over the telephone, please call the LGO Advice Team on 0300 061 0614 or 0845 602 1983 - Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.00pm.

The Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry CV4 0EH

Fax: 024 7682 0001

You can make an enquiry by email to advice@lgo.org.uk

For further information go to http://www.lgo.org.uk/

How can I complain about the conduct of a councillor?

If you wish to make a formal complaint about an individual Councillor’s conduct you need to contact the local Monitoring Officer. For Wisbech Town Councillors this is the Monitoring Officer based at Fenland District Council. http://www.fenland.gov.uk/

e-mail: monitoringofficer@fenland.gov.uk

fax: 01354 606904

write to: The Monitoring Officer, Fenland District Council, Fenland Hall, County Road, March PE15 8NQ

Complaints will initially be assessed by a panel chaired by one of the Committees ‘independently appointed members’ before a decision is taken on whether to investigate further, consider an alternative approach such as mediation or to take no action. If it is decided that no action will be taken, there can be an opportunity for that decision to be reviewed by a different panel co-ordinated by a different independently appointed member.