Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Standards Committee

COMPLAINT FORM

To be used if you wish to make an allegation that a Member of the Authority has failed to comply with the Members Code of Conduct.

Your details

    1. Please provide us with your name and contact details

      Title:

      First name:

      Last name:

      Address:

      Daytime telephone:

      Evening telephone:

      Mobile telephone:

      Email address

      Your address and contact details will not usually be released unless necessary or to deal with your complaint.

      However, we will tell the following people that you have made this complaint:

        _ The member(s) you are complaining about

        _ The monitoring officer of the authority

      We will tell them your name and give them a summary of your complaint; We

      Will give them full details of your complaint where necessary or appropriate to be able to deal with it. If you have serious concerns about your name and a summary, or details of your complaint being released, please complete section 6 of this form.

    2. Please tell us which complainant type best describes you:

            Member of the public

            An elected or co-opted member of an authority

            An independent member of the standards committee

            Member of Parliament

            Local authority monitoring officer

            Other council officer or authority employee

            Other ( )

    3. Equality monitoring questions

      We want to find out if we are giving as good a service as we can to everyone. To help us do this, please complete this section of the form. The information that we ask for in this part of the form will remain confidential and will not affect the way that your complaint is dealt with

Gender male / female

Age please state

Ethnic origin

      White

      Mixed - please state

      Asian / Asian British

      Black or Black British

      Chinese

      Other ethnic group - please state

Disability

Are you a disabled person Yes / No

      Making your complaint

        Once you have submitted your complaint, it will be considered by the Standards Assessment Sub-Committee of the Authority. This consists of three members and will be chaired by an independent member. None of the members will have any previous involvement in the substance of your complaint.

        The Sub-Committee will assess on the basis of your written submission and any additional relevant material that the Monitoring Officer may produce whether your allegation is likely to reflect a failure to comply with the Members Code of Conduct. If it is considered to do so, the Sub-Committee has a range of options available to it. This can include referral for a fully investigation by the Monitoring Officer, mediation or no further action if it is considered that any failure to comply with the Code of Conduct is of a trivial nature.

        The Sub-Committee will meet to consider and determine the matter within 20 working days.

        If the Sub-Committee decides that no further action is required in respect of your complaint, you may, within 30 days ask for that decision to be reviewed. This review will be undertaken by the Standards Review Sub-Committee which consists of three members and will be chaired by an independent member. The Review Sub-Committee will have the same range of options available to it as the Standards Assessment Sub-Committee . The Review Sub-Committee will, however, have up to three months to consider and determine the review of your allegations and how they should be dealt with.

        If either the Standards Assessment or Review Sub-Committee decide that an investigation is required into your complaint, the Monitoring Officer or someone appointed by him will be instructed to undertake it. You will be given further information at that time should an investigation be necessary.

    4. Please provide us with the name of the member(s) you believe have breached the Code of Conduct and the name of their authority.

      Title

    First name

    Last name

    Council or authority name

    5. Please explain in this section (or on separate sheets) what the member has none that you believe breached the code of Conduct. If you are complaining about more than one member you should clearly explain what each individual person has done that you believe breached the Code of Conduct.

      A copy of the Authority Code of Conduct for Members can be found in the County Council's Constitution accessible on the Council Web Site at www.hants.gov.uk/constiitution/part4/part4-1.htm or a paper copy can be obtained from the Monitoring Officer by writing to :

      The Monitoring Officer, Hampshire County Council

        The Castle, Winchester, SO23 8UJ

          _ You should be specific, wherever 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.

          _ You should provide the dates of the alleged incidents wherever possible. If you cannot provide exact dates it is important to give a general timeframe.

          _ You should confirm whether there are any witnesses to the alleged conduct and provide their names and contact details if possible.

          _ You should provide any relevant background information.

Please provide us with the details of your complaint. Continue on a separate sheet if there is not enough space on this form:

We would also like you to say here what outcome you would you like to see:

    Only complete this next section if you are requesting that your identify is kept confidential.

    6. In the interests 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 details of your complaint unless you have good reason to justify the Authority doing so.

      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.

Please provide us with details of why you believe we should withhold your name and/or the details of your complaint:

    Additional Help

    7. Complaints must be submitted in writing. This includes electronic submissions. However, in line with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 2000, we can make reasonable adjustments to assist you if you have a disability that prevents you from making your complaint in writing.

      We can also help if English is not your first language.

      If you need any support in completing this form, please let us know as soon as possible.

      This complaint should be submitted to the Monitoring Officer of the Authority by sending to the following contact addresses:

      By post to : The Monitoring Officer, Hampshire County Council