Confidentiality of complainant and the complaint details - only complete this section if you are requesting that your identity is kept confidential.
In the interests of fairness and of natural justice, we believe Members who are complained about have a right to know who has made the complaint and the substance of the allegation(s) made against him / her. We are, therefore, unlikely to withhold your personal details or the details of your complaint unless you have good reasons to believe that you have justifiable grounds, for example:
- if you reasonably believe that you may be victimised or harassed by the Member(s) concerned or by his / her associates; or
- if you reasonably believe that you may receive less favourable treatment from the Council because of the seniority of the Member concerned. (e.g. in terms of any existing Council service provision or any tender / contract that you may have or are about to submit to the Council)
Please note that requests for confidentiality or requests for suppression of the personal and complaint details will not automatically be granted. The Standards Assessment Sub-Committee will consider the request alongside the substance of your complaint and the Monitoring Officer will then contact you with the decision. If your request for confidentiality is not granted, we will usually allow you the opportunity, if you so wish, of withdrawing your complaint.
However, it is important to understand that, in exceptional circumstances, where the allegation(s) is very serious, we may proceed with an investigation (or other action) and may have no choice but to disclose your personal and complaint details, even if you have expressly asked us not to.