What happens when we receive your complaint

Following receipt of your complaint the Monitoring Officer will:

• acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 5 working days of receiving it, and will keep you informed of the progress of your complaint.  Your complaint will be given a reference number which will appear on complaint documentation to preserve the privacy of the complainant and the subject Member until the complaint outcome is determined. 
• Notify the Member that the is the subject of the complaint that you have made a complaint about them and provide them with information set out in the complaint form (excluding any personal information but including your name unless this has been agreed to be withheld). The Member will be invited to make a representation to the complaint, if they so wish, within 10 working days (this timeframe may be extended if the Monitoring Officer thinks it appropriate to do so).
• Once the timeframe for the Member subject to the complaint has expired or representations have been received, the Monitoring Officer will aim to undertake the initial consideration of the complaint within 20 working days.

In exceptional cases, where the Monitoring Officer feels it is appropriate to keep your identity confidential or disclosure of details of the complaint to the Member might prejudice the investigation, the Monitoring Officer may withhold your name and address from the Member, or delay notifying the Member until the investigation has progressed sufficiently.