Council complaints policy

Parish Council complaints policy

When did you last review your councils Complaints Policy? Is it up to date? One would hope that your council will never need to refer to its complaints policy but, like Standing Orders, it is there should the occasion arise. 

A good complaints system is: 
• well publicised, easily accessible and easy to use
• helpful and receptive 
• not adversarial 
• fair and objective
• based on clear procedures and defined responsibilities
• thorough, rigorous and consistent 
• decisive and capable of putting things right where necessary 
• sensitive to the special needs and circumstances of the complainant 
• adequately resourced 
• fully supported by councillors and officers 
• provides responses that are proportionate, one size does not fit all 
• timely and 
• regularly analysed to spot patterns of complaint and lessons for service improvement.

NALC has a Legal Topic Note  (9E) in the Members Area of its website on how to handle complaints. (If you are a member of BALC you will have a username and password to access the NALC Members Area). 

Remember the Office of the Local Government Ombudsman does not cover town and parish councils.

Transparency Code information and grants available

Length of time you need to keep Transparency Code information on your website


By now your council and your clerk will be familiar with the requirements of the Transparency Code and if you aren't already compliant will be working towards getting the required information onto your council website.

Smaller councils (turnover under £25,000) should publish on a freely available website information about:

•  all items of expenditure above £100 
•  end of year accounts 
•  annual governance statement, internal audit report 
•  list of councillor or member responsibilities  
•  the details of public land and building assets
• Minutes, agendas and meeting papers of formal meetings

If your council does not have a website it may be eligible to receive a grant towards getting a computer and setting up a website to enable the council to comply with the Code. Please contact BALC for more information and an application form. The first monies will be made available to parish councils in November 2015 and monthly from then until the end of the 2015/16 financial year when the process will be reviewed.

Some councils have been asking how long does the information have to remain on your website. Hungerford Town Council asked DCLG, their response was:

"There is no requirement to retain information indefinitely online, and your authority

should follow its own records management policy. As a guide, however, the

Information Commissioner’s Office provides a model publication scheme under the

Freedom of Information Act, which can be summarised as:

• Any information about decision-making and records of decisions should be made available for the current financial year, plus the previous three financial years;
• Any information about financial records (e.g. from parking income, to salary information) should be made available for the current financial year, plus the previous two financial years;
• Any other substantive information (e.g. constitution) should be up to date.

The full scheme can be found here:

It is for your councillors to decide whether to fund the expansion of a website, to

allow for material to be stored. We would of course encourage them to consider the

importance of transparency for all public services. Access to information about how

public money is spent is an integral aspect of local accountability and the democratic

process."

NALC Legal Topic Note 56: The provision of play and sports equipment on village greens updated

NALC Legal Topic Note (LTN) 56: The provision of play and sports equipment on village greens has been amended to include reference to the Open Spaces Act 1906 and simplified.

Defra Towards a one nation economy: A 10-point plan for boosting rural productivity

This document sets out a 10-point plan that the government will put into action to increase productivity growth in England’s rural areas. Note the last suggestion (10)
 
Your bedtime reading if you live in the rural parts of Berkshire!

1. Extensive, fast and reliable broadband services
•The government is committed to delivering superfast broadband of at least 24Mbps to 95% of UK households and businesses by 2017. Decisions on further broadband rollout will be taken in the Spending Review in November
•By the end of 2015, access to standard broadband will be available to anyone unable to get a service of at least 2Mbps, through the option of satellite broadband.
 

2.High quality, widely available mobile communications
•The government will work closely with industry to support further improvements to mobile coverage
•The government proposes to extend permitted development rights to taller mobile masts subject to conclusions from the Call for Evidence which closed on 21 August 2015

3.Modern transport connections
•The government will improve transport connections for rural areas, including through its £15 billion Road Investment Strategy and £38 billion rail investment programme.To support smaller airports serving regions across the UK, the government is publishing proposals for new publicly supported passenger air routes, with final decisions on funding for successful routes to be made in November.

4.Access to high quality education and training
•The government will ensure fairer funding for schools, including those in rural areas. It will turn inadequate schools into academies and focus efforts to support school improvement in under performing rural areas.
•The government will invite local areas to participate in the re-shaping and commissioning of local post-16 skills provision.

5.Expanded apprenticeships in rural areas
•The government will increase apprenticeships in rural areas, including by tripling apprenticeships in food and farming and by helping small tourism businesses to provide more, high quality apprenticeships

6. Enterprise Zones in rural areas
•In the current bidding round for Enterprise Zones closing on 18th September 2015, preference will be given to proposals involving smaller towns, districts and rural areas.
•The government’s ambition is that businesses in all Enterprise Zones in rural areas will be able to access high speed broadband.

7. Better regulation and improved planning for rural businesses
•Alongside wider measures to reduce the regulatory burden and improve planning, the government will review planning and regulatory constraints facing rural businesses and
measures that can be taken to address them by 2016
•The government will introduce a fast-track planning certificate process for establishing the principle of development for minor development proposals

8. More housing
•Through the right combination of measures, the government wants to ensure that any
village in England has the freedom to expand in an incremental way, subject to local agreement

•The government will make it easier for villages to establish neighbourhood plans and allocate land for new homes, including the use of rural exception sites to deliver Starter Homes.
 

9.Increased availability of affordable childcare
•The government will work with local authorities and providers to ensure there is sufficient high-quality childcare to meet the needs of parents in rural areas.
•The government will welcome high quality early expressions of interest from rural areas to deliver 30 hours of free childcare to working parents

10. Devolution of power
•The government will encourage further proposals from local areas for devolution of powers in return for strong and accountable local governance.