Local assessment of complaints guidance
Our guidance on the local assessment of complaints is now available to download below. It is designed to help members and officers in relevant authorities who are involved in the assessment of complaints that a member may have breached the Code of Conduct.
It details each stage of the assessment of complaints and offers suggestions for effective practice. Below you will also find a toolkit of useful document templates that may be used or adapted by authorities as required.
Guidance downloads
Toolkit
The following toolkit, published in May 2008, provides a wide range of template documents, forms and process maps designed for use in the local assessment process. Local authorities can download the documents below and amend them as appropriate to suit their own requirements. The documents are not prescriptive and the list is not exhaustive. They are based on the experience that the Standards Board for England has had in assessing complaints over the last six years.
If you decide to use these documents, we would recommend that they are personalised with your own authority's corporate identity. You will see that there are also parts of the documents which require you to include certain information, such as contact details or details of your process for dealing with a complainant's request for anonymity.
Please note: the complaint form is set up to be used as an electronic form and as such is protected.
To edit the details, logo and footer sections in Word:
- Click on the Tools menu and select Unprotect document.
The template is now unprotected and you can make now being to edit the document.
Once you have edited the document and to enable the protection:
- Click on the Tools menu and select Protect document
- Make sure you select Filling in forms in the editing restrictions box.
- You can then choose to set the password as you see fit.
Toolkit
- Assessment & Review flowcharts (88 kb)
- Notice publicising local code of conduct complaints process (233 kb)
- Complaint form (286 kb)
- Additional wording for complaint form (43 kb)
- Acknowledgement of receipt of complaint (240 kb)
- Template letter to notify members that a complaint has been received (253 kb)
- Decision notice - referral for investigation or other action (254 kb)
- Decision notice - no further action (242 kb)
- Decision notice - further information requested (242 kb)
- Decision notice - referral to the Standards Board (246 kb)
- For use with referral for investigation or other action decision notice (231 kb)
- For use with no further action decision notice (231 kb)
- Covering letter for decision notice (to member) - suitable for all decision types (231 kb)
- Review request acknowledgement letter (to complainant) (237 kb)
- Letter to notify member that a request for a review has been received (238 kb)
- Review response letter (to complainant) original decision upheld (238 kb)
- Review response letter (to complainant) original decision overturned (245 kb)
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