South Derbyshire District Council

We want to know if you've got a comment to make whether it's good or bad, on any of our services. You can also make suggestions about how we can improve our services.

If your complaint is against a councillor for a breach of the Code of Conduct for Members, then please visit Code of Conduct For Members - Information for Potential Complainants

Are we listening to you?

Let us know what you think of us.

Comment, complaint or compliment

We want to know if you’ve got a comment to make whether it’s good or bad, on any of our services. You can also make suggestions about how we can improve our services.

We want you to complain if you feel you’ve been poorly treated by any of theCouncil services. After all, if you don’t let us know, how can we do better?

We would also like you to tell us when we do something right. If you’re particularly pleased with any of our services then let us know.

We want to hear from you if you’ve got anything to say, to or about South Derbyshire District Council.

Let us know what you think of us

At South Derbyshire District Council, we try to provide you with efficient and high quality services at all times. We realise that despite our best efforts, things can go wrong and when this happens we need to know. Minor problems such as a missed refuse collection service, can be quickly remedied when you report it to us and do not require the use of the complaints procedure. However, if we fail to put matters right then the complaints procedure is available to bring this to our attention. If you complain, this can help us to deal with your problem and try to prevent similar problems arising in the future.

When to complain

You may have a complaint if you think we have:

done something in the wrong way
done something we should not have done
or failed to do something we should have done

Examples of this could be us taking far too long to do something, failing to follow the right procedures or not treating you properly.

Before you complain

We hope that before making a complaint, you will give the service concerned a chance to put things right. Often the department concerned can deal with a minor service problem quickly and efficiently. The formal complaints procedure is available for you to use if you are not satisfied with the answer or action you receive in response to your request.

How do I make a formal complaint?

You can make your complaint in any of the following ways:

Completing the form which can be downloaded from the bottom of this page under 'Related documents'; or writing to the Head of Corporate Services about your complaint. These should be posted to: Jan Middleton, Corporate Services Administration Manager, South Derbyshire District Council, FREEPOST MID21072, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 7BR.
Online at www.south-derbys.gov.uk/complaintsform.htm
By e-mail to customer.services@south-derbys.gov.uk
By phone on 01283 595795
If you find it difficult to write down your complaint, an officer in our Customer Services department will be able to help by filling in the forms for you. Please phone 01283 595795 where an officer will be available to assist.

If you wish to submit a written complaint about the conduct of an elected or co-opted Member of South Derbyshire District Council or a Member of one of our Parish Councils, please complete the necessary complaint form and provide relevant evidence to substantiate your allegation(s). Download the form online, together with the procedures relating to the local assessment of complaints and local determination hearings at www.south-derbys.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/standards_and_behaviour/code_of_conduct_for_members/default.asp

The completed from should be returned to ...

Mark Alflat, Monitoring Officer, South Derbyshire District Council, Civic Offices, Civic Way, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 0AH.
E-mail: mark.alflat@south-derbys.gov.uk
Phone: 01283 595712. Fax 01283 595854.

Please note that the Standards Committee can only deal with complaints about the alleged behaviour and conduct of a Member. It will not deal with complaints about things that are not covered by the Members’ Code of Conduct.

What happens next?

Your complaint will be handled in two stages:

Stage 1

The Corporate Services Department will co-ordinate the investigation into your complaint and try to put it right. They will write to you within 5 working days, telling you who is dealing with your complaint and when you can expect to receive a reply. In most cases we hope to give you a full reply within ten working days but if it is going to take longer, we will get in touch with you to let you know what is happening.

Stage 2

We hope that most complaints can be dealt with to your satisfaction. If you still feel dissatisfied after receiving a reply you can ask for your complaint to be reviewed by the Chief Executive.

The Corporate Services Department will then pass the details of your complaint to the Chief Executive, who will write to you within a week to acknowledge your request for a review. We hope to reply to you fully within two weeks but if it is going to take longer, you will then be kept informed of progress until a decision has been made.

What else can you do?

You have the right to ask the Local Government Ombudsman to investigate your complaint if you feel you have been unfairly treated due to maladministration by the Council. "Maladministration" refers to the way a case has been handled or the Council's failure to do something, not the actual decision.

The Local Government Ombudsman is an independent arbitrator whose decision is final. You can either complain directly to the Ombudsman or ask your local Councillor to take up the case for you.

Details of your local councillor can be provided by ringing (01283) 221000, by calling in to the main reception desk or by using our Find Your Councillor web page.

You can get a leaflet on the Ombudsman service from the main reception desk or by contacting us using the details at the bottom of this page:

Contacting the Local Government Ombudsman

There is a single point of contact for the Ombudsman from any part of England. Complaints can be made in writing, by telephone, e-mail, fax or text.

Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH

Tel: 0300 061 0614 (Mon-Fri 8.30am to 5pm)
Fax: 024 7682 0001
Text 'call back' on 0762 480 3014 and an LGO adviser will call you back
E-mail: advice@lgo.org.uk
Website: www.lgo.org.uk

Contact details

South Derbyshire District Council
Customer Services
Civic Offices
Civic Way
Swadlincote
Derbyshire
DE11 0AH

Tel: 01283 595795
email: customer.services@south-derbys.gov.uk
Online: Comment, Compliment or Complaint form

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Making a comment, compliment or complaint about services provided by South Derbyshire District Council