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Making a formal complaint

Your local authority welcomes feedback on the standard of service it provides. In this way they can learn from mistakes and improve services.

If you have a concern or suggestion about a service, write or speak to a member of staff or the service manager. Contact information for this, and other council services is listed on your local authority's website or in the phone book.

If you are not happy with your reply

A service manager normally sends you a written reply within a certain number of working days from receiving your complaint.

If you are still not happy, you can contact your authority's complaints officer. The complaints officer will confirm that they have received your complaint and, after investigation with the department concerned, they will send you a written reply.

Your local authority will be committed to responding to a complaint within a set number of days. Again, local circumstances vary slightly and you should contact your local authority for full details.

Taking your complaint further

The Local Government Ombudsman is an organisation that investigates complaints about local councils. It is independent of both central and local government so that the investigations are impartial.

You can complain directly to the ombudsman at any time, but they usually only consider your complaint after it has been looked at under your local authority's complaints procedure. You can contact the ombudsman's Adviceline on 0845 602 1983 for general help and assistance before submitting a complaint. You can make a formal complaint in writing, by email, by fax and online.

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