Complain about a councillor

Use this form if you have a complaint or concern about the conduct of a Member of the Council, in relation to the Code of Conduct (part 4 of the Council Constitution).

Before you start

Make sure you explain in the form what the member has done that you believe breaches the Code of Conduct as described in part 4 of the Council Constitution.

If you are complaining about more than one member you should clearly explain what each individual person has done that you believe breaches the Code.

It is important that you provide all the information you wish to have taken into account by the Monitoring Officer when they decide whether to take any action on your complaint. For example, you should:

• be specific, whenever possible, about exactly what you are alleging the member said or did - for instance, instead of writing that the member insulted you, you should state what it was they said
• specify which section(s) of the Code you feel has been breached, where possible
• provide the dates of the alleged incidents where possible - if you cannot provide exact dates, it is important to give a general time frame
• confirm whether there are any witnesses to the alleged conduct and provide their names and contact details, where possible
• provide any relevant background information

Request for confidentiality

In the interest of fairness and natural justice, we believe members who are complained about have a right to know who has made the complaint. We also believe they have a right to be provided with a summary of the complaint. We are unlikely to withhold your identity or the details of your complaint unless you have good reasons.

Please note that requests for confidentiality or requests for suppression of complaint details will not automatically be granted. The Monitoring Officer will consider the request alongside the substance of your complaint. We will then contact you with the decision. If your request for confidentiality is not granted, we will usually allow you the option of withdrawing your complaint.

However, it is important to understand that in certain exceptional circumstances where the matter complained about is very serious, we can proceed with an investigation or other action and disclose your name even if you have expressly asked us not to do.

You will need

• The name and authority of the member(s) you believe have breached the Code of Conduct

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What happens next

We will investigate your complaint and reply to you within 15 working days.

Start my complaint

Medium - This form usually takes a few minutes to complete

Your personal information provided on this form will be used in accordance with our Personal Information Policy.