Complaints and Feedback Policy

If your concern falls into one of the categories below, we cannot consider this under our Complaints and Feedback process. This is to make sure the matter is dealt with by the right team and in line with legal requirements.

We will tell you if we cannot accept your concern and advise you of your right to ask the Ombudsman to review our decision.

We want the chance to put things right before you make a complaint and encourage you to contact the relevant service area in the first instance.

If your service request is not dealt with properly, you can complain to us.

Statutory complaints about Children’s or Adults Social Care have separate processes:

• Adult social care compliments and complaints
• Children and young people social care compliments, complaints and comments

Unless your complaint is about the Council’s statutory education duties, contact the school directly. Schools have their own complaints procedures: Complaints about schools | Buckinghamshire Council.

For example:

• Council Tax: Council Tax appeals and challenges
• Parking fines: How to appeal a parking fine or penalty charge notice (PCN)
• Blue Badge applications: Ask us to review an unsuccessful application
• Homelessness assessments: If you don't think the decision we've made about your situation or the housing accommodation you've been offered is correct, you can ask us to review that decision.
• Housing allocations: Applicants can request a review within 21 days of being notified of a decision.
• Determination of your planning application: Make an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate and associated guidance - GOV.UK
• Planning Enforcement Notice: Appeal an enforcement notice: When you can appeal - GOV.UK
• Home to school transport: 10.22 How to challenge a decision | Buckinghamshire Council
• School admissions: School appeals
• EHC needs assessments or plan decisions where the SEND Code of Practise provides an alternative right of appeal: Appealing
• Claims for damages are handled by our insurance team. Claim decisions have an internal appeal route: Claim for damage caused by roads or pavements

These should be submitted as comments, representations or objections via Public Access: Comment on or object to a planning application.

These should be submitted directly to the planning enforcement team for investigation.

Report a planning breach.

It is not a good use of our finite resources to revisit a matter that has exhausted the complaints process when there is no new information or evidence available.

You should let us know as soon as possible if there is a problem. If you have left it more than 12 months since knowing about the problem, we will only consider your complaint if we consider there is a good reason for the delay in letting us know.

If you complain about the conduct of a member of staff, we will investigate your concerns and make take action under our HR policies and procedures.

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to the Data Protection Officer: [email protected]

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office if you are still unhappy after this.

If you are unhappy with the handling or outcome of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Request information we have about you or someone you care for | Buckinghamshire Council

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your internal review, you can contact the Information Commissioner (ICO).

Send these directly to the relevant parish or town council using the contact details on their website. There are 171 parishes in Buckinghamshire, covered by a combination of parish councils, town councils and parish meetings.

Complaints from staff about matters relating to their employment should be dealt with through personnel policies.

Although the actions of an organisation when recruiting staff may not be challenged through personnel processes, they relate to the organisation’s actions as an employer, and it would not normally be appropriate to deal with concerns raised about recruitment through the complaints process.

Complaints about LGPS pensions.

We are a public service organisation which is led by elected councillors, and we follow a cabinet model of decision making. This means key decisions are made by the Cabinet, either collectively or individually.

If you are unhappy with a policy or how resources are allocated, but are not directly impacted, we may refer you to engage with your Local Councillor to discuss your concerns.

Sometimes people contact us about decisions that are still being considered. This usually happens when:

• we share possible future plans during a consultation
• someone is worried about what might happen if a decision is made later

At this stage, nothing has been decided, so any impact cannot be determined. If you have concerns, we’ll guide you to the right consultation process or suggest speaking with your local councillor.

These are handled by the Monitoring Officer under a separate policy: Complain about a councillor.

If a further complaint is submitted after the conclusion of those legal proceedings, we will not consider any points which the court has (directly or indirectly) considered. In these circumstances we reserve the right to refuse to accept any/all aspects of the complaint, as appropriate.

We will not review a matter where a financial claim has already been made.

We will be unable to investigate these complaints unless it raises issues of wider concern that can be dealt with based solely on the information supplied.

Concerns from MPs are generally handled through our dedicated MP Enquiries process. However, if following this route might prevent a constituent from using their right to approach the Ombudsman, we may enter the matter into the complaints process.