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Home > My Council > Have your say > Complain about a councillor

Complain about a councillor

Please read our guidance on what constitutes a complaint.

Making a complaint

If you believe a councillor has breached the Parish or County Member’s Code of Conduct and you wish to make a complaint, the Conduct Complaint form MUST be completed.

Complain about a Councillor form

Mandatory field

Local code of conduct complaint form
If you believe a councillor has breached the members code of conduct please complete this form.
Your Details
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. 
the parish clerk (if applicable) . 
 
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.
Making your complaint
Please provide us with the name of the Member(s) you believe have breached the Code of Conduct and the name of their authority:
Please explain in this section (or on separate sheets) what the Member has done that 
you believe breaches 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 breaches the Code of Conduct. 
 
It is important that you provide all the information you wish to have taken into account 
when a decision is made about whether to take any action on your complaint. For 
example: 
 
- 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.
Only complete this next section if you are requesting that your identity is kept confidential 
 
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 the details of your complaint unless you have good reason to believe that you will suffer significantly by physical or mental detriment. 
 
Please note that requests for confidentiality or requests for suppression of complaint details will not automatically be granted. The request will be considered 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.
Additional Help 
Complaints must be submitted in writing. This includes fax and 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. Disability Discrimination Act 
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. 
Contact: 
monitoringofficer@rutland.gov.uk or telephone Sue Bingham 01572 758165


Data Protection

In order to comply with the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we have to provide you with information about the personal data you give to us.  This information is set out below: 

Rutland County Council is the data controller for the personal information you may provide. You can contact us by phone on 01572 722577, via email to dataprotection@rutland.gov.ukor by writing to us at Data Protection, Catmose House, Oakham, Rutland. LE156HP 

Your information will be used so that we can deal with your complaint.

We may share the data with third parties in order to deal with your complaint, this may include the Police or Government Agencies.  We will not sell your data or use it for marketing purposes without your consent. 

We will keep your data for 12 months after the complaint has been concluded.

You have the following rights under the GDPR.  Please note not all of these rights apply to all processing.  Further details on each right can be found on our website (https://www.rutland.gov.uk) 

  • The right to be informed.  

  • The right of access.  

  • The right to rectification

  • The right to erasure

  • The right to restrict processing

  • The right to data portability

  • The right to object

  • Rights related to automated decision making, including profiling’

 

If you are not happy with the way the council is handling your personal information you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

 

      

Reports and Notices

  The following Decision Notices have been published in response to complaints made against elected members: 

 

  • June 2016: Decision Notice relating to allegations of a breach of the Code of Conduct for members of Oakham Town Council by Councillor Martin Brookes.

  • August 2017: Decision Notice relating to allegations of a breach of the Code of Conduct for members of Oakham Town Council by Councillor Martin Brookes.