Please complete one Complaint Form per Councillor
Please complete one Complaint Form per Councillor
The points listed below will help you decide whether this is the correct form to use when making your complaint. You should speak to the Monitoring Officer if you are not clear if your complaint can be considered.
Your complaint must be about conduct that occurred while the Councillor(s) complained about were in office. Conduct of an individual before they were elected, co-opted or appointed to the authority, or after they have resigned or otherwise ceased to be a Councillor, cannot be considered.
The conduct also has to have occurred when the Councillor was acting in his or her capacity as a Councillor or would have given the impression to a reasonable member of the public with knowledge of all the facts that he or she was acting as a Councillor. Complaints about things that a Councillor has done in a purely personal capacity are not covered by the Code of Conduct.
If you are unsure about any aspect of the process, please contact the Monitoring Officer before submitting any complaint(s).
What you should do if you wish to submit a written complaint:
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:
We will tell them your name and give them a copy of your complaint. We will give them full details of your complaint where necessary or appropriate to be able to deal with it.
Please be advised that decisions in relation to complaints will be made available on the Council's website, although unless there is a finding that the Councillor has failed to comply with the Code of Conduct no identifying information will be published.
It is very important that you set your complaint out fully and clearly and provide all the information at the outset. You should also provide any documents or other material that you wish to be considered, where possible.
We recommend that you use our complaint form (and continue on separate sheets if necessary). In the summary you should tell us exactly what each person you are complaining about said or did that has caused you to complain. If you are sending supporting documentation, please cross-reference it against the summary of your complaint. You do have to demonstrate that you have reasonable grounds for believing that the Councillor(s) complained about has breached the Code of Conduct.
Please explain in this section (or on separate sheets) what the Councillor has done that you believe breaches the Code of Conduct. If you are complaining about more than one Councillor, 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 for example:
Complaints must be submitted in writing.
However, in line with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, we can make reasonable adjustments to assist you if you have a disability that prevents you from making your complaint in writing.
We can also help if English is not your first language.
If you need any support in completing this form, please let the Monitoring Officer know as soon as possible.
Your complaint must be about one or more named members of the following authorities:
Complaints about dissatisfaction with a decision or action of the authority or committee, a service provided by the authority or the authority's procedures do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Monitoring Officer. Complaints about the actions of people employed by the authority also do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Monitoring Officer.
Monitoring Officer
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Civic Offices
London Road
Basingstoke
Hampshire
RG21 4AH
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