COMPLAINT FORM

Members’ Code of Conduct: Complaint Form for complaints that a District, or Town/Parish Councillor has breached the Members’ Code of Conduct

Your details

1 .   Please provide us with your name and contact details

Your address and contact details will not usually be released unless necessary or to deal with your complaint.

However, we will tell the following people that you have made this complaint:

• the member(s) you are complaining about
• the monitoring officer of the authority
• the parish or town clerk (if applicable)

We will tell them your name and give them a summary of your complaint. We will give them full details of your complaint where necessary or appropriate to be able to deal with it. If you have serious concerns about your name and a summary, or details of your complaint being released, please complete section 6 of this form.

2.   Please tell us  which complainant type best describes you:

Once you have made your complaint, it will be acknowledged and you will be told in writing what will happen to it.

4   .Please provide us with the name of the member(s) you believe have breached the Code of Conduct and the name of their authority:

5.   Please explain in this section (or on separate sheets) what the member has done that you believe breaches the Code of Conduct. If you are complaining about more than one member you should clearly explain what each individual person has done that you believe breaches the Code of Conduct.

It is important that you provide all the information you wish to have taken into account by the assessment sub-committee when it decides whether to take any action on your complaint. For example:

• You should be specific, wherever possible, about exactly what you are alleging the member said or did. For instance, instead of writing that the member insulted you, you should state what it was they said.
• You should provide the dates of the alleged incidents wherever possible. If you cannot provide exact dates it is important to give a general timeframe.
• You should confirm whether there are any witnesses to the alleged conduct and provide their names and contact details if possible.
• You should provide any relevant background information.

Only complete this next section if you are requesting that your identity is kept confidential

6   In the interests of fairness and natural justice, we believe members who are complained about have a right to know who has made the complaint. We also believe they have a right to be provided with a summary of the complaint. We are unlikely to withhold your identity or the details of your complaint unless you have good reason to believe that we should withhold it.

Please note that requests for confidentiality or requests for suppression of complaint details will not automatically be granted. The assessment sub-committee will consider the request alongside the substance of your complaint. We will then contact you with the decision. If your request for confidentiality is not granted, we will usually allow you the option of withdrawing your complaint.

However, it is important to understand that in certain exceptional circumstances where the matter complained about is very serious, we can proceed with an investigation or other action and disclose your name even if you have expressly asked us not to.