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Complaints about corporate issues

The way Gloucestershire County Council manages complaints about Corporate issues is determined by the council’s own complaints policy. This document can be found in the ‘Relevant links’ section, at the right of the page.

Services you can complain about under the Corporate Complaints policy include :

  • Highways
  • Household Recycling Centres
  • Libraries
  • Registration Service

Examples of complaints we cannot consider can be found at the following link : Complaints we cannot consider.

We take all complaints seriously, and will do our best to seek resolution, learn from feedback and, wherever possible, improve the services we provide. It is important, for these reasons, that we are made aware of your concerns. You can give us feedback about Corporate issues using any of the following methods :

  • You can call us on 01452 427614.
  • You can send us an e-mail at corporatecomplaintsteam@gloucestershire.gov.uk.
  • You can fill in an online form.
  • You can contact a staff member within the team / department about which you wish to complain. They will inform us of your concerns.
  • You can make a complaint in person, at our offices (please see the address below). Unless you have booked an appointment, however, it cannot be guaranteed that a member of the Complaints team will be available to meet with you.
  • You can send a letter to ‘Corporate Complaints, Gloucestershire County Council, Shire Hall, Westgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2TG’.

If your concerns relate to Children's Services, please use the following page : Complaints about Children's and Young People's Services.

If your concerns relate to Adult Social Care, please use the following page : Complaints, compliments and comments about Adult Social Care.

If you have a complaint about staff at the Director level, this will be sent to the Chief Executive for investigation; a senior management structure chart can be found at the following link : Senior Management Structure . Complaints about the conduct of the Chief Executive (not feedback where they are cited because of their overall responsibilities) will be referred to the Leader of the Council.

If you have a complaint about a councillor, this should be directed to the council's Monitoring Officer. Further information on the procedure can be found at the following link : Complaints about Councillors

If you have a complaint about Data Protection, Environmental Information Regulations, or Freedom of Information requests, these fall under the Information Compliance complaints process. Further information on this procedure can be found at the following link : Complaints about Information Compliance (PDF, 172.7 KB) .

Highways

You can report problems with roads, paths or other county assets online, at: Report it

If this facility is not available to you, or if the matter is an emergency, you can call 08000 514514.

When you contact us with a Highways-related issue, you will be given a reference number. Please include this reference number in future correspondence, as this will ensure we are able to promptly locate the relevant records.

Libraries

The Library Service can be contacted on 01452 426973 (9am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday, and 9am - 4pm on Saturdays) or at libraryhelpline@gloucestershire.gov.uk.

Should you wish to contact us with concerns in regard to the Library Service, please include your library card number in your correspondence as this will help us in managing the matter.

How will we deal with your feedback?

Unless it relates to staff misconduct or a breach of council policy, the first time we are contacted about a matter within the scope of our Corporate Complaints policy, it will likely be categorised as a ‘representation’ rather than a complaint. This is because we believe we should be given an opportunity to resolve issues before treating feedback on those issues as a formal complaint.

We aim to acknowledge representations within 2 working days (not including the day your feedback was received) and respond within 20 working days.

If you let us know that you are not satisfied with the response you receive, we will then consider investigating your complaint at Stage 1 (please see below).

Unless it relates to staff misconduct or a breach of council policy, the first time we are contacted about a matter within the scope of our Corporate Complaints policy, it will likely be categorised as a ‘representation’ rather than a complaint. This is because we believe we should be given an opportunity to resolve issues before treating feedback on those issues as a formal complaint.

We aim to acknowledge representations within 2 working days (not including the day your feedback was received) and respond within 20 working days.

If you let us know that you are not satisfied with the response you receive, we will then consider investigating your complaint at Stage 1 (please see below).

We will aim to acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days. This 2 working day timeframe does not include the day your feedback was received. The acknowledgement will let you know who will be investigating your concerns, provide you with relevant contact details, and let you know when you can expect a response. Your issue will then be looked at and we will aim to respond to within 20 working days.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive or we have not sent a response within 20 working days, you can ask that your complaint be progressed to Stage 2. We recommend, so the momentum in resolving your complaint is not lost, that you request a Stage 2 investigation within 20 working days of receiving the Stage 1 response.

We will aim to acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days. This 2 working day timeframe does not include the day your feedback was received. The acknowledgement will let you know who will be investigating your concerns, provide you with relevant contact details, and let you know when you can expect a response. Your issue will then be looked at and we will aim to respond to within 20 working days.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive or we have not sent a response within 20 working days, you can ask that your complaint be progressed to Stage 2. We recommend, so the momentum in resolving your complaint is not lost, that you request a Stage 2 investigation within 20 working days of receiving the Stage 1 response.

Once your request for a Stage 2 investigation has been received, a Complaints Manager will consider your request and aim to send you their decision within 10 working days.

Once your request for a Stage 2 investigation has been received, a Complaints Manager will consider your request and aim to send you their decision within 10 working days.

If your request to progress your complaint to Stage 2 is accepted, a senior manager who has not previously been involved with your complaint will be asked to reinvestigate the matter. They will aim to respond to you within 25 working days. If you are not satisfied with the senior manager’s response, you have the right to have your complaint considered by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

If your request to progress your complaint to Stage 2 is accepted, a senior manager who has not previously been involved with your complaint will be asked to reinvestigate the matter. They will aim to respond to you within 25 working days. If you are not satisfied with the senior manager’s response, you have the right to have your complaint considered by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

Once the complaints procedure has been exhausted, if you remain unhappy, you do have the right to contact the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LG&SCO). The LG&SCO considers complaints about councils and some other organisations providing local public services. The service is free, independent and impartial.

 

You can contact the LG&SCO on 03000 610614, via their complaint form or at PO Box 4771, Coventry, CV4 0EH.

Once the complaints procedure has been exhausted, if you remain unhappy, you do have the right to contact the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LG&SCO). The LG&SCO considers complaints about councils and some other organisations providing local public services. The service is free, independent and impartial.

 

You can contact the LG&SCO on 03000 610614, via their complaint form or at PO Box 4771, Coventry, CV4 0EH.