Agenda item

Members received a report advising of the new Regulations in place to deal with the local assessment of complaints. Three additional documents were circulated at the meeting in addition to the supplementary agenda that was published before the meeting containing revised guidance from the Standards Board.  The Monitoring Officer reported that she had attended a meeting recently with other Lancashire Monitoring Officers with the aim to create a common set of referral criteria.

Members discussed the method for publicising the new regime and how to gain the balance of promoting it without soliciting for complaints. Members supported the issue of a press release, publicity through the City Council’s Customer Service Centre, libraries and parish newsletters and noticeboards and promoting to organisations like Citizens Advice Bureau and the universities.  It was suggested that the Standards Board template press release circulated at the meeting should be re-written to be more user friendly, readable and possibly include an interview and photo.

Members considered the draft complaints form and additional guidance for complainants circulated at the meeting and indicated a preference for the form to be simplified, with all the narrative being contained in the guidance notes. Members were of the view that the subject member should not be notified that a complaint had been received until after the Assessment Sub-Committee had met.

Members considered the amended Assessment Procedure and Criteria circulated at the meeting, and took the view that the Assessment and Review Sub-Committees should comprise three members, convened by the Head of Democratic Services on an ad-hoc basis in accordance with the principles set out in the report and the draft Assessment Procedure. Members were further of the view that the Review Sub-Committee should consider a complaint afresh, substituting its own view for that of the Assessment Sub-Committee.

Resolved:

1. That the revised guidance from the Standards Board be noted and adopted.

2. That the new regime be publicised through the City Council’s Customer Service Centres, libraries and parish newsletters and noticeboards, and organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureaux and the universities, and via the issue of a press release to be written in consultation with the Council’s Communications officers to be more user friendly, readable and if possible include an interview and photo.

3. That authorisation be given to the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Chairman, to finalise the format of the complaints form and guidance.

4. That the Assessment Procedure and Assessment Criteria as circulated and discussed at the meeting be approved.

5. That the Review Sub-Committee will consider a complaint de novo, substituting its own view for that of the Assessment Sub-Committee.

6. That the Monitoring Officer will not notify the subject member in advance of the meeting of the Assessment Sub-Committee that a complaint has been received.

7. That the Assessment and Review Sub-Committees should consist of three members, to include an independent member as Chairman, and one city councillor.  The third member will be a parish representative where the complaint relates to a parish councillor, and, where the complaint relates to a city councillor, the third member will either be another independent member or a parish representative.  Wherever possible, the city councillor will not be of the same Group as the subject member and/or the maker of the complaint.

8. That the Head of Democratic Services or her representative be authorised to convene ad hoc Assessment and Review Sub-Committees on the principles set out in (7) above.  

9. That a future meeting of the Committee consider a review of the existing Hearing procedures, a review of the Protocol on publicity for complaints, and the procedure for dealing with complaints of alleged breach of Protocols.