We really appreciate your feedback, both positive
and negative, as it helps us to ensure that we are providing
you with the best possible services.
How to make a comment or
compliment | How do I make a
complaint | What happens next |
Complaints Stages | Complaints about Councillors |
Complaints about the Chief Executive or
Heads of Service | Complaint
Outcomes |
How do I make a comment or compliment?
You can contact us by any of the following methods
If you want to write to us please address your letter to
the department you are referring to, Copeland Borough
Council, The Copeland Centre, Catherine Street, Whitehaven,
Cumbria, CA28 7NY.
How do I make a complaint?
If you have a complaint about a Council service we would
appreciate the opportunity to investigate and explain our
actions. To make a complaint we would ask you to do the
following,
- contact us by any of the above methods,
- clearly stating exactly what you think has been done
wrongly and what, if any, injustice this has caused you.
- tell us what you think the Council ought to do to put things
right to your satisfaction.
What happens next?
- If we can't resolve the matter immediately we will
acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing within 3 working
days. We will tell you who is going to investigate your
complaint, how you can contact them and when you can expect a
response.
- You will normally receive a response within 10 working
days. If this is not possible we will explain why, for
example some key Officer involved in the complaint may be on
annual leave so in this case we will send you an update or
interim response and and give you a date when you can expect
the full response.
Complaints stages
A complaint can be resolved at any stage of our complaints
procedure. We are pleased to say that most are resolved
initially by the Service Manager from the department you are
complaining about. However if you are not satisfied with
their response there are 3 further stages which your
complaint may progress through, these are:
- Stage1- An investigation by the Head
of the department you are complaining about.
- Stage2 - An investigation by the Head of a
department other than the one you are complaining about, we
call this an investigation by an independent investigating
Officer
- Stage3 - A hearing by the Appeals
Panel,which is a panel of elected Councillors who have had no prior
knowledge or involvement in the investigation of your
complaint.
If the Chief Executive or a Director refuses to progress your
complaint at any stage, you will be given details of how to refer
your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman, who can be
contacted at
Advice Team, PO Box 4771, Coventry, CV4 OEH e-mail
advice@lgo.org.uk Tel 0845 602 1983 Mon- Fri 8.30am 5.00pm, Text
0762 480323
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Complaints about Councillors
If you want to complain about the conduct of a member of
Copeland Borough Council or a member of one of the parish or town
councils in Copeland, you must submit your complaint by letter,
e-mail or fax, to:
- The Chair of the Assessment Sub-Committee, c/o The Monitoring
Officer, Copeland Borough Council, The Copeland Centre, Catherine
Street Whitehaven CA28 7SJ
- e-mail: mjepson@copelandbc.gov.uk
- Fax: 01946 598311
The assessment sub-committee can only deal with complaints about
the behaviour of a member. It will not deal with complaints about
things that are not covered by the members' Code of Conduct.
If you make a complaint to the assessment sub-committee it must
be about why you think a member has not followed the code of
conduct. If you need further advice or help on anything relating to
the code of conduct, please contact Martin Jepson, Head of
Legal and Democratic Services, contact details above.
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Complaints about the Chief Executive or Heads of Service
Complaints relating to the Chief Executive or Heads of Service
should be addressed to the Leader of the Council, care of the Head
of Legal and Democratic Services, who will then carry out an
investigation.
Complaints about the Head of Legal and Democratic Services,
should be addressed to the Leader of the Council, care of the Chief
Executive.
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Complaint outcomes
If the investigation finds that your complaint is valid, we will
apologise, explain, take steps to ensure we learn from your
complaint to ensure it doesn't happen again
and recompense you as appropriate.
If we find that we have acted properly we will also
fully explain why, perhaps by explaining that is how the law
or Council procedure dictates how we should
act.
Either way if you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of your
complaint you can seek an independent review by the Local
Government Ombudsman.
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