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Member complaint form

Please complete this form if you have a complaint regarding an alleged breach of the Code of Conduct by a Member of Tandridge District Council; or by a Member of a Parish Council within the District of Tandridge.

Your details

Please provide us with your name and contact details. Anonymous complaints will only be considered if there is independent evidence to substantiate the complaint.

Title

If 'Other' please state

First name

Surname

Address

If you are a Tandridge resident, please enter your postcode in the box below, including the space, ie RH8 0BT, and click the 'Show Postcode Addresses' button and select your address.

Postcode

Address

E-mail address

If you provide your e-mail address and tick the box to opt in, we’ll keep you up to date with information about our services, as well as local news and events. We promise to only send information that’s relevant and you will always be able to unsubscribe.

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Telephone

Date of complaint

Please tell us which complainant type best describes you

For equality monitoring purposes, please describe your ethnic origin

The following people will see this form:

Members of the Standards Committee
Monitoring Officer of the District Council
the Parish Clerk (if applicable)

A brief summary of your complaint will normally be shared with the Member(s) you are complaining about. If you have serious concerns about your name or particulars of your complaint being released, please indicate below and discuss the matter with the Council’s Monitoring Officer (contact details on last page).

Would you like your identity kept confidential?

YesNo

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Making your complaint

The sanctions available to a Standards Committee are governed by law and are summarised in the accompanying notes on the previous page. More serious sanctions are only available to the Adjudication Panel for England.

Please provide us with the name of the Member(s) you believe has breached the Council’s Code of Conduct and the name of their Authority:

Member details

Title

If other, please state

First name

Surname

Council or Authority name

Please explain in the space below what the Member is alleged to have 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. It is important that you provide all the evidence you wish to have taken into account by the Standards Committee when it considers 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 failed to treat you with respect by insulting you, you should state what they said or did to insult you.
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 misconduct and provide their names and contact details if possible.
You should provide any relevant background information or other relevant documentary evidence to support your allegation(s).
If the allegation(s) is/are being made more than 28 days since the alleged misconduct, clearly explain why the complaint was not made during that period

Please provide details of your complaint in accordance with the guidance above

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Confidentiality

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.

Please provide details of why you believe we should withhold your name and/or the details of your complaint (please refer to the guidance above)

Informal Resolution/Remedy

It is often possible to resolve complaints without recourse to a formal investigation and hearing.

In such cases it is important that appropriate action to seek to achieve resolution of the matter is undertaken without delay.

Are you willing for attempts to be made to seek early informal resolution of your complaint?

YesNo

We will endeavour to seek resolution of your complaint prior to it being considered by the Standards Assessment Sub-Committee. To assist us in doing this it would be helpful if you could provide information in the box below:

Please provide details of what remedy you are seeking / what action you think might provide a satisfactory resolution to your complaint

If you require help or more information, please contact the Council's Monitoring Officer:

The Chairman of the Standards Assessment Sub-Committee

c/o Lidia Harrison Head of Legal Services and Monitoring Officer

Tandridge District Council

Council Offices

8 Station Road East

Oxted, Surrey RH8 0BT

Tel: 01883 732740

E-mail: monitoringofficer@tandridge.gov.uk

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