Chittlehamholt, Satterleigh and Warkleigh Parish Council

Complaints Policy & Procedure

Adopted 25 March 2019 , SATTERLEIGH AND WARKLEIGH PARISH COUNCIL COMPLAINTS POLICY & PROCEDURE

1. Complaints about councillors

1.1 It is important that the public and organisations in our parish have confidence in local democracy, and in those of our community who have been elected or appointed to serve on our local councils.

1.2 In this regard, the Parish Council has adopted the North Council Code of Conduct, setting out how councillors should behave.

1.3 Our councillors are expected to live up to high standards of behaviour and demonstrating that they do so underpins public confidence in local democracy.

1.4 Any complaint received by the Parish Clerk about councillors will be responded to by supplying the complainant with the contact details for the Council Monitoring Officer, who has the responsibility for investigating.

1.5 The North Devon Council’s Monitoring Officer works with the North Devon Council Ethics Committee and, along with the Ethics Committee, has the responsibility for investigating and deciding on allegations that a councillor's behaviour may have breached the Code of Conduct. If a breach is found, the remedy will vary depending on the circumstances, but it could include a censure or a request to undergo training or issue an apology.

1.6 The North Devon Council Ethics Committee is made up of seven councillors and two non-voting representatives from parish councils. One other important aspect of the ethical framework in the area is the Independent Person. This is a person appointed by the North Devon Council to give a view on any complaint before a final decision is taken. The appointed person is completely independent from the North Devon Council and is selected after a public advertisement.

1.7 The North Devon Council Code of Conduct can be found on its website at https://www.northdevon.gov.uk/media/329435/part5-codes-and-protocols.pdf

2. Complaints about the Parish Council or the Parish Clerk

2.1 By complaining you give the Parish Council the opportunity to put things right and review the way we do things in future.

2.2 Any complaint about the Council will be acknowledged by the Parish Clerk who will send you an acknowledgement within ten working days of receipt, provide you with access to a copy of the Parish Council’s Privacy Policy and advise you when a full response will be made. The aim is for a full response to be supplied within five working days after the next full Parish Council meeting. If the complaint is about the Parish Clerk a councillor will be appointed to lead on the response at that meeting and report to the following full Parish Council meeting, after which you will receive a response.

2.3 The Parish Clerk or nominated councillor will investigate the complaint, seeking information from councillors where appropriate, in order to provide a report to the next full Parish Council meeting. The complaint and investigation report will be presented by the nominated lead, be discussed by councillors in the public meeting and a determination of the validity of the complaint will be resolved by the full Council.

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CHITTLEHAMHOLT, SATTERLEIGH AND WARKLEIGH PARISH COUNCIL COMPLAINTS POLICY & PROCEDURE

2.4 If your complaint is found to be justified you will receive a written apology and we will carry out a review to see if we need to make any changes to our procedures or systems.

2.5 In order that an appeals process can be accommodated within the limited resources of the Parish Council, the District and County Councillors in attendance at Council meetings will be provided with all relevant information in the event their observations are required at a later date.

2.6 If you are unhappy with the response you get from the first investigation we carry out, you may refer your complaint to a closed meeting of the Parish Council, at which you may be represented with up to three other persons of your choice. At this meeting the views of the District and County Councillors will be material considerations during the re-assessment of the complaint and at that meeting a final determination will be resolved.

2.7 If you are unhappy about the way we have dealt with a complaint about data protection or Freedom of Information, please contact the Office of the Information Commissioner.

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Additional information:

North Devon Council Monitoring Officer can be accessed by writing to North Devon Council, PO Box 379, , Devon, EX32 2GR – or making enquiries via e-mail [email protected] or tel. 01271 327711.

Office of the Information Commissioner – details can be obtained via www.ico.gov.uk or by tel. 0303 123 1113.

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