Your Views Are Good News

If you are a service user, carer or representative acting on the user’s behalf or if you feel you have a right to a service from the Children,Young People and Families Directorate regarding social care, residential care, care leavers, adoption, fostering or safeguarding services; your complaint will be dealt with through the statutory complaints process.

You can let us know what you think about these services, or find further information about this process, visiting our Children’s Comments, Compliments and Complaints page.

Your views and experiences of Adults and Communities are important to us, because we want to give you the best services we can. By listening to you, we can find out how well we are doing and learn how to continue to improve the services we provide.

Talk to us about adult social care

If you are a service user, a carer or someone who's planning to use our services, we want to make it easier for you to talk to us about adult social care. For more information about what you can do to take part in improving existing adult social care services and developing new ones, please see our Talk to us page.

Comments, compliments and complaints

You can contact us at any time if, for example,

• you have ideas for improving our services
• you want to thank someone for doing a good job
• something has gone wrong when we have been working with you.

To make a comment, compliment or complaint about our services, please see our Comments, compliments and complaints page.

The person who applied has a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate if:

• No decision has been reached on the application within the statutory eight-week period
• The application is refused
• The applicant does not agree with one or more of the conditions on an approval

Appeals are usually time consuming and, depending on which method of appeal you choose, can be expensive. So before you opt for this course of action, it’s worth speaking to the Planning Officer who dealt with your application. You can see if there’s scope to negotiate a compromise and submit an amended application.

You have a maximum of six months to appeal.

Details of the appeal procedures can be found accompanying the decision notice, or by visiting the Planning Portal or the Planning Inspectorate websites.

An appeal can be dealt with in one of three ways:

• Written Representations: This is the quickest method. The person appealing and the council prepare written statements for the Planning Inspectorate’s consideration. A Planning Inspector will visit the site and then issue a decision.
• Informal Hearing: With both parties’ agreement and provided the planning issues are straightforward, the Planning Inspector may call an informal hearing. This is a discussion of the issues involved between the parties led by the Planning Inspector.
• Public Inquiry: Each side presents its case verbally before an inspector. The witnesses for each side can be cross-examined by the opposing parties. This is usually a more lengthy and expensive procedure as it normally involves professional representation and complex arguments.

The Inspector's decision is final and you have no further right of appeal except to the High Court on a point of law. There is no third party right of appeal other than on a point of law, although third parties can be involved in the appeal process and are asked for their comments.

Appeal forms are available from the Planning Inspectorate and you can make, track and search for certain kinds of appeals Online.

If you are unhappy with the school offered to your child, you can have your case heard by an independent appeals panel who will consider your individual circumstances.

Parents and carers can only appeal for schools that they have submitted as a preference.

How to appeal

You can appeal to Admissions and Appeals about places at community schools and Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls.

For appeals about places at the King Edward VI Grammar Schools:

The Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham
Foundation Office
Edgbaston Park Road
Birmingham
B15 2UD

If you’re appealing about places at voluntary-aided and foundation schools, please write to the Chair of Governors at the school. You should contact the schools directly for information on their appeal arrangements.

Appeals for schools outside Birmingham should be made in accordance with the published admission arrangements of the local authority concerned.

Deadline for making appeals

The deadline for receipt of appeals for community schools in Birmingham can be found by following the link below:

Please make sure that your appeals are submitted by this date. Appeals received afterwards may not be accepted without a reasonable explanation as to why they are late. You can make appeals about any schools that you have submitted as a preference.

If you’ve appealed unsuccessfully for a particular school, you can’t apply for a place at the same school in the same academic year, unless you can show there has been a significant and material change in your circumstances since the appeal.

If you receive a penalty charge notice (PCN) and believe that you’re not liable to pay the charge, you must contact the parking section as soon as possible. You must have a valid reason and give as much information as you can.

E-mail: enquiries_parking@birmingham.gov.uk
Tel: 0121 675 2000

The following are examples of reasons that will not be accepted:

• The parking restrictions were unfair
• You had gone to get change for the ticket machine
• Your vehicle was only parked for a short time
• Your vehicle was not causing an obstruction
• There was nowhere else to park
• You have a residents' permit or season ticket, but were not driving the car for which it is valid
• You ran out of petrol

We’ll respond to your objection and tell you whether we’ve accepted or rejected it.

If your objections is accepted you won’t have to pay the penalty charge. If it is rejected and we received your objection within 14 days of the PCN’s issue date, we’ll give you another 14 days to pay the charge at the discounted rate.

You need to write to the Travel Pass Section:

The Travel Passes Office
Tamebridge House
Aldridge Road
Perry Barr
Birmingham
B42 2TY

Tel: 0121 303 1234
Email: SSDBlueBadges@birmingham.gov.uk

In your letter, please state why you think the decision was wrong. If you are able to send us additional medical evidence supporting your appeal, please include it with your letter.

The City Council's Standards Committee is the first point of consideration for all written complaints against elected and co-opted members. In appropriate cases, the Standards Committee may refer complaints to the Standards Board for England.

Make a complaint to the city council's Standards Committee

If you think any of the information we have used in calculating the amount you’re entitled to is wrong, or you disagree with our decision, you can:

• Ask for a further written explanation
• Ask us to look at the decision again
• Make an appeal

You can find more information on the Benefit Services page. Or you can visit your local Neighbourhood Office for help.