Councillor Complaints
Guidance Notes April 2024

Before submitting the complaint

If you wish to submit a complaint about the conduct of an elected or co-opted member or a councillor, you need to do it in writing and provide relevant evidence to support your allegations.

Your complaint must be about conduct:

• that occurred while the named councillor was in office
• when the named person was acting in their capacity as a councillor
• where the named person would have given the impression to a member of the public with knowledge of all the facts that they were acting as a councillor

Your complaint will not be considered about:

• 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
• 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 or need an additional support in completing or submitting the complaint, contact the Monitoring Officer first.

How should I set out my complaint

It is very important that you set your complaint out fully and clearly and provide all the information at the outset:

• tell us exactly what each person (if you are complaining about more than one councillor) you are complaining about said or did that you believe breaches the Code of Conduct
• if you are sending supporting documentation or other materials, please cross-reference it against the summary of your complaint
• demonstrate that you have reasonable grounds for believing that the named councillor has breached the Code of Conduct

It is important that you provide all the information you wish to have taken into account for example:

• you should be specific wherever possible about exactly what you are alleging the councillor said or did. For example, instead of writing that the councillor 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

Submitting the complaint

There are number of options on how you can submit your written complaint:

• use an online form
  Make a complaint about a councillor
• email monitoring.officer@basingstoke.gov.uk
• send it to:

Monitoring Officer
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Civic Offices
London Road
Basingstoke
Hampshire
RG21 4AH

Help with writing the complaint

• in line with the Equality Act 2010, we can make reasonable adjustments to assist if you have a disability that prevents you from making your complaint in writing
• we can help if English is not your first language

Use of address and contact details

Your address and contact details will not be released unless necessary or to deal with your complaint. We will tell the following people that you have made this complaint:

• the councillor(s) you are complaining about
• the parish or town clerk (if applicable)
• independent person(s)

We will:

• tell them your name
• give them a copy of your complaint
• 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 our website, unless there is a finding that the councillor has failed to comply with the Code of Conduct no identifying information will be published.