Complaints procedure

London Councils has a simple four-step procedure for complaints.

Preliminary Stage – Problem Solving

If you are unhappy about a particular service or wish to make a suggestion contact the relevant officer or line manager in that department.  They can usually sort out mistakes and misunderstandings quickly and informally at this stage.

Note: To appeal against a decision to reduce or cease an organisation’s funding see London Councils Grants Committee appeals process (this only relates to organisations currently in receipt of London Councils funding).

Note: To complain about a partner of London Councils or a voluntary organisation funded by London Councils contact the London Councils Grant officer in responsible for this organisation. You can find out who this Grants officer is by emailing Katy Makepeace-Gray.

Note: Complaints about Parking or Congestion Charging Adjudicators. The Adjudicators are independent judicial officers and do not fall within this protocol.  If there is a complaint about the Adjudicator's consideration of an appeal or the way a case has been dealt with, the complainant should write to the Head of the Service in the first instance - following the procedure outlined in the PATAS leaflet if the complainant wishes to ask for a review of the decision in their case.  If it is a complaint about the conduct of an adjudicator the complainant should write to the Chief Adjudicator at the PATAS Office. A complaint about an individual’s treatment by PATAS staff or the level of service received are dealt with by the following four step procedure. Go to the PATAS website for more information.

If you are not sure who to contact call and ask for Emily Salinger - Corporate Complaints Officer on 020 7934 9999 or email FOI-DPAComplaints@londoncouncils.gov.uk

If you are not happy with the response you get, then you can make a formal complaint.

The formal complaints procedure has three stages.

Stage 1 – Departmental Investigation

The first stage to lodging a formal complaint is to complain to FOI-DPAComplaints@londoncouncils.gov.uk

You can complain:

• by telephone
• by writing a letter or email
• in person, at London Councils

You can write to Emily Salinger, the Corporate Complaints Officer at:

Corporate Governance
59½ Southwark Street
London
SE1 0AL

Or telephone on 020 7934 9814, or email FOI-DPAComplaints@londoncouncils.gov.uk

What details should you give?

Please give as many details as possible, such as:

• what do you think London Councils has done wrong or not done?
• how have you been affected?
• what would you like London Councils to do to put things right?
• when were you first aware of the problem?
• any relevant dates, the names of staff you have dealt with and provide any letters or other documents you have to support your complaint.
• to help London Councils treat you fairly please state your sex, ethnic origin and if you have a disability.  If you’re using the complaint form, these questions are on the form.  The information you give is confidential.  London Councils will only use it to ensure that it treats all groups of people fairly and that it does not discriminate against you.

In the event that you cannot, or choose not to, provide all of these details you can be assured that your complaint will still be investigated.

What will happen?

Upon receiving your complaint, the corporate complaints officer will arrange for a complaint manager to investigate your complaint.

The complaint manager will be a member of staff, appointed by the director, from the service department that the complaint is relating to.  If however, the complaint is about a particular officer then the complaint manager will not be that officer.

The complaint manager will be responsible for conducting the Stage 1 investigation. 

If the complaint progresses to Stages 2 and 3, the complaint manager will then take on a supervisory role.  They will:

• be your point of contact throughout the entire complaint process
• ensure Stages 2 and 3 are conducted in accordance with London Councils' complaint  policy
• retain all correspondence and documentation produced during the complaint process and provide it to the Corporate Governance division for monitoring and archiving purposes

How long will it take?

If the problem cannot be solved immediately, the complaint manager will acknowledge your complaint within five working days with a letter stating:

• what will be done
• how long before a reply will be given
• who to contact in the future about your complaint

Please give the complaint Manager the opportunity to respond to, and resolve, your complaint before taking it further.  The complaint manager will aim to provide you with a full response within 15 working days.  If there are reasons why this cannot be possible, you will be contacted with an explanation why and provided with a new date for a response.

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