I want to make a complaint – Guide to the Public

Why do we need a complaints procedure?

Wealden District Council aims to provide high quality services on every occasion but sometimes things can go wrong. The purpose of the Complaints Procedure is to find out whether the Council did something wrong and, if it did, to try and put things right for the future.

If you are dissatisfied with the standard of service, the actions or lack of action by the Council, its employees or anyone providing services on behalf of the Council, we would like you to let us know so that we can try to put things right. The Complaints Procedure helps us to do this. Your complaint will be:

Recorded in the register of complaints

dealt with as quickly as possible;

handled courteously and fairly; and

investigated fully.

The Complaints Procedure is intended to deal with specific situations such as mistakes, delay or inefficiency. Some things which can be dealt with more effectively in other ways are not treated as a complaint. Examples of those are listed below so please think carefully about whether your situation falls into one of those categories before seeking to use the Complaints Procedure explained later in this leaflet.

Things which we do not treat as a complaint

A complaint against the Council needs to say what the Council itself has done wrong.

In general, complaints about bin collection, litter, neighbours, noise, food establishments etc will be treated as requests to do something about them, i.e. requests for service.

Disagreement with a planning permission, enforcement decision or other regulatory activity. (As the law currently stands, a planning decision is binding and there is no right of appeal, except by the recipient to the Planning Inspectorate.)

Where there is some other legal remedy or statutory right of appeal, for example in respect of certain planning, housing and taxation matters.

Disagreement with a policy or decision lawfully made by the Council. These will be monitored by the Directorate concerned and, in appropriate cases, reported to the relevant councillor(s).

Complaints which allege financial impropriety or criminal activity. These will be dealt with by the Chief Executive or a Corporate Director providing evidence to substantiate the allegation is supplied with the complaint.

If you want to complain about the conduct of a member of Wealden District Council or a member of one of our parish or town councils, you must now submit your complaint to:

The Assessment Sub Committee,

The Monitoring Officer,

The Standards Committee,

Wealden District Council,

Pine Grove,

Crowborough,

East Sussex TN6 1DH

Complaints forms are available on the Council's website or by phoning the Council's Monitoring Officer, Trevor Scott, or Democratic Services on 01892 602437. Your complaint will then be passed to the Assessment Sub Committee.

Councillor conduct complaint form (pdf, 196kb)

How do you make your complaint?

You can make your complaint by telephone, in writing, email or in person. It will help us to deal with your complaint if you explain briefly and accurately

what you are complaining about;

when it happened (or should have happened);

why and how you think we should have done things differently; and

what you think the Council should do to put things right.

We will respond to your complaint as quickly as possible and aim to reply fully within ten working days. If your complaint cannot be resolved to your satisfaction by the head of service concerned, you can ask for one of the Council’s Management Team to review how your complaint was dealt with, with an appropriate councillor (what we call the second stage of the Procedure).

Putting things right

If your complaint is found to be justified the Council will take appropriate action to remedy the situation.

What happens if you are still not satisfied?

If the council is not able to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction, you can ask the Local Government Ombudsman to carry an independent examination.

Summary of The Complaints Procedure

Online complaint form

I want to make a complaint (pdf, 60kb)

Contact details

for further information
contact customer services on 01323 443530
or email info@wealden.gov.uk

Wealden District Council Offices, Vicarage Lane, Hailsham, East Sussex BN27 2AX

Office hours: 8.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday