Barrington Parish Council Complaints Procedure
Introduction
There are three categories of complaint.
a. Complaint about an employee – A complaint about an employee of the
Parish Council such as the Clerk will be dealt with as an employment.
matter by the Chairman.
b. Complaint about a Parish Councillor – A complaint about a Parish
Councillor is to be dealt with by South Cambs District Council. Where?
the Parish Council receives a complaint about a Parish Councillor the
Proper Officer will return the form to the complainant referring the
complainant to the South Cambs District Council Monitoring Officer, South Cambs District
Council, South Cambs Hall, Cambourne, Cambridge CB23 6EA.
c. Complaint about the Parish Council:
This procedure is for dealing with complaints about the Parish Council’s.
administration or its procedures.
Wherever possible the Clerk or other nominated officer will try to resolve a complaint immediately
and informally. If this is unsuccessful the following procedure will apply.
Before the Meeting
1. The complainant should be asked to put the complaint about the council’s procedures or
administration in writing to the clerk or other nominated officer.
2. If the complainant does not wish to put the complaint to the clerk or other nominated officer, he
or she may be advised to put it to the chairman of the council.
3. The clerk or other nominated officer shall acknowledge receipt of the complaint and advise the
complainant when the matter will be considered by the council or by a committee established for
the purpose of hearing complaints. The committee will consist of at least three members of the
Parish Council.
4. The complainant shall be invited to attend a meeting and to bring with them a representative if
they wish.
5. Seven working days prior to the meeting, the complainant shall provide the council with copies of
any documentation or other evidence, which he or she wishes to refer to at the meeting. The council
shall similarly provide the complainant with copies of any documentation upon which it wishes to
rely at the meeting.
At the Meeting
6. The complaints committee shall consider whether the circumstances of the meeting warrant the
exclusion of the public and the press. Any decision on a complaint shall be announced at a council
meeting in public.
7. The chairman will introduce everyone and explain the procedure to be followed.
8. The complainant (or representative) will outline his or her grounds for complaint and, thereafter,
questions may be asked by members.
9. If relevant, the clerk, or other nominated officer will explain the council’s position and questions
may be asked by (i) the complainant and (ii) members.
10. The clerk or other nominated officer and then the complainant should be offered the
opportunity to summarise their position.
11. The clerk or other nominated officer and the complainant should be asked to leave the room
while members decide whether the grounds for the complaint have been made. If a point of
clarification is necessary, both parties shall be invited back.
12. The clerk or other nominated officer and the complainant should be given the opportunity to
wait for the decision, but if the decision is unlikely to be finalised on that day, they should be advised
when the decision is likely to be made and when it is likely to be communicated to them.
After the Meeting
13. The decision should be confirmed in writing within seven working days together with details of
any action to be taken.
14. The Parish Council may decide either to uphold or reject the complaint – giving reasons for so doing.5Should the complaint be upheld the Parish Council will set out what steps are to be taken in order to remedy the situation in line with the working policies and Standing Orders of the Parish Council. Any lessons to be learned will be noted and actioned accordingly.
15. The complainant should also be notified that should they not be satisfied with the Parish Council’s decision; they can file a complaint with South Cambridgeshire District Council via their monitoring officer.
Reviewed April 2021 and April 2022