Complaints Process

System for Councillor Complaints

Members of the public concerned about the conduct of Thanet District Councillors or Town/Parish Councillors can now make complaints directly to Thanet District Council’s Standards Committee.

 

Local Code of Conduct and Complaints against Councillors


From May 2008, the responsibility for considering initial complaints about the conduct of elected Councillors has now been taken over by local authorities standards committees, with the Standards Board's role moving towards one of advice and support.

 

All Councillors have to keep to a Code of Conduct to ensure they maintain the high ethical standards the public expect from them. If a complainant reveals that a potential breach of this Code has taken place, Thanet District Council’s Standards Committee may refer the allegations for investigation or decide to take other action.

 

How to make a complaint

 

To make a complaint about the conduct of a member of Thanet District Council or a member of one of the Parish or Town Councils in Thanet, a complaint must be submitted in writing to the Monitoring Officer Please complete a complaint form , and return to The Monitoring Officer, FAO Chair of the Standards Committee,  Thanet District Council, PO Box 9, Cecil Street, Margate, Kent, CT9 1XZ.

 

What is a complaint ?

 

The Standards Committee can only deal with complaints about the behaviour of a member.  It will not deal with complaints about things that are not covered by the Members’ Code of Conduct, such as maladministration.  If you make a complaint to the Standards Committee it must be about why you think a Councillor has not followed the Code of Conduct. 

 

In assessing whether or not a breach of the Code of Conduct has occurred the Standards Committee will have regard to assessment criteria approved by the Standards Committee.

 

Once cases have been investigated, the authority's independently-chaired Standards Committee will decide what action, if any, should be taken against the member.  On rare occasions this responsibility will be given to the Adjudication Panel for England, an independent judicial tribunal.

 

More information on making a complaint can be found at

http://www.standardsboard.gov.uk

 

Democratic Services

 

E-mail:

committee
@thanet.gov.uk

 

Tel:  

01843 577500