Councillor Complaints

Contact Details

If you wish to make a complaint about a councillor, please complete the attached form and email it to the feedback team. Alternatively, you can write to the Monitoring Officer, Municipal Buildings, West Street, Boston PE21 8QR. A hard copy of the form is available on request from Reception at the Municipal Buildings.

The form helps us to make sure that we have all the information we need to be able to process the complaint. In particular, we need your name and a contact address or email address so that we can acknowledge receipt of your complaint and keep you informed of its progress. If you would like these details to be kept confidential from the subject of the complaint then please indicate this in the space provided on the form. We may investigate anonymous complaints, but will generally only do so where there is a clear public interest in doing so.

Complaint Process

You will receive acknowledgement of receipt of your complaint automatically via email or within 5 working days for all other communication methods.

A complaint can only be considered under this process if it concerns the conduct of a Councillor. Complaints about members of staff (including parish clerks) and decisions taken by the Council or a parish council cannot be considered.

For a matter to be considered by the Sub-Committee it must fall within the authority's legal jurisdiction. Therefore, if any of the following are clear from the complaint the allegation will not be put before the Assessment Panel for consideration:-

• Where it is clear from the complaint that the subject of the complaint was not acting in an official capacity at the time the alleged conduct occurred.
• Where the conduct complained of is a continuation of a situation/set of circumstances relating to the same Council, which the Assessment Panel has previously considered and determined not to take any action on.
• Where the subject of the complaint is not a Member at the time the complaint is submitted.

The Monitoring Officer is given delegated authority by the Council to consider the age and seriousness of the complaint in determining whether it should be submitted to the Assessment Panel.

On receiving the complaint the Monitoring Officer will contact the subject of the complaint to seek their views on the circumstances surrounding the allegation.

The Monitoring Officer, in consultation with an Independent Person, within 20 working days shall determine if the complaint potentially constitutes a breach of the Code of Conduct taking into account legislation, professional knowledge and case law.

If the allegation is found to be a potential breach of the Code it will be referred to the Assessment Panel for consideration of whether it warrants investigation or other action.