The complaints process

Stage 1 – Investigate the complaint

We will acknowledge that we have received your complaint within 2 working days.

Our complaint team will assess the complaint within 5 working days after receiving it. If we decide not to accept the complaint, we will explain the reasons to you. We will also investigate if we can resolve the matter within this period.

If the issue cannot be resolved within this time, the relevant service will investigate the complaint. We will respond to you with our decision within 15 working days of receiving your complaint.

Stage 2 – Review the complaint

If you are unhappy with our decision at stage 1, you can ask us to review it. You will need to explain why you feel the outcome is incorrect.

Your review request will be assessed within 5 working days by a council officer who was not involved with the original stage 1 investigation. They will review the handling of the complaint and provide a final response within 20 working days of receiving the review request.

You can find out more in our complaints policy.

If you are unhappy with our review response

If have followed stage 1 and stage 2 of our complaint process and are still unhappy, you may want to ask the appropriate ombudsman to consider your complaint.

Visit the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman website.

If you are a council housing tenant and the complaint is about the council as a landlord, contact the Housing Ombudsman.

Page last updated: 22 August 2025