If you are unhappy with your experience of using council services, we want to know so we can put things right and improve how we do things in the future.

Before making a complaint, please give us a reasonable opportunity to put things right. If you have not raised your concerns about the actions or decisions of the service before, the service should be given the opportunity to put things right through routine service delivery. If the service is not able to resolve the issues, you can make a complaint.

Service request

If you wish to report a fault about a council service directly to the team concerned (for example, your bin was not collected or you want to appeal a parking ticket) this is a service request.

Please use our contact us form or find the online process or contact information below or in the relevant section of this website.

We want to hear from you

We want to hear from you about your experiences, good or bad, as it is an important way of recognising good service, putting things right and sorting out problems - both for you and everyone else that uses our services.

Sometimes we do make mistakes, so if you are not happy with a service you have received from us, we want to know about it. We will look into your complaint, let you know the outcome and take steps to put things right as soon as we can.

Complaints process

If you would like further information about the complaints process, please contact the Complaints Team using the details at the bottom of the page.

• Corporate complaints policy
• Corporate complaints and compliments annual reports
• Adult social care complaints annual reports
• Children's representations and complaints annual reports 

Other service area complaints processes

• Adult social care complaints
• Children's social care complaints
• Further education or apprenticeship complaints
• School and education complaints
• Health service complaints
• The council has a very small number of housing tenants in accommodation owned by the council. The policy for these tenants to make complaints about their housing is available alongside the housing complaints self-assessment code
• Councillors' conduct complaints

What you can expect from us

We aim to acknowledge your Stage 1 complaint within 5 working days. We aim to acknowledge your request for a Stage 2 investigation within 5 days.

Our target for Stage 1 complaints is to give you a full response within 10 working days. However, if your complaint is complicated, it may take longer to sort out - but we will keep you informed.

Our target for Stage 2 complaints is to give you a full response within 20 working days. However, if it's not possible to respond within this timescale, it may be extended to 40 working days for complex matters.

We will treat your complaint confidentially and fairly, and you should not be treated negatively as a result of making a complaint.

We will assess the information you have provided in your complaint and decide how best to manage your concerns in a fair and proportionate manner.

Submit a complaint form

If you are unhappy with the response you received

If you remain unhappy with the response you have received, you will be informed in writing of what other avenues of redress remain available to you. If you have exhausted the complaints procedure and you are still not satisfied, you can approach the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

If you would like to discuss a previous complaint or have a general enquiry, please contact the team using the details below. If you would like to discuss a previous complaint please have your reference number available.

Please help us to help you

In times of trouble or distress, some people may act out of character. There may have been upsetting or distressing circumstances leading to a complaint.

We do not view behaviour as unacceptable just because someone is forceful or determined. We believe that all complainants should have the right to be heard, understood and respected. However, our staff also have the same rights.

We, therefore, expect you to be polite and courteous in your dealings with us. We will not tolerate aggressive or abusive behaviour, unreasonable demands or unreasonable persistence. We expect all council employees to deal with members of the public with dignity and respect at all times. This is embedded in the council's THRIVE values, behaviour policy and code of conduct. We also expect all members of the public to behave in a reasonable manner when dealing with council officers.

Our unreasonable behaviour policy sets out clearly what behaviours are deemed as unreasonable and unacceptable, and what the council will do if members of the public do not behave in an appropriate way.