Complaints Procedure

Falmouth Town Council is dedicated to providing a quality service for the benefit of residents, workers, and visitors to the area.

If you are dissatisfied with our service or unhappy with our actions, or lack thereof, this Complaints Procedure explains how to make a complaint and how we will work to resolve it.

Scope

This Complaints Procedure applies to complaints from residents and the general public about council administration and procedures and may include complaints about how council employees have dealt with your concerns. This Complaints Procedure does not apply to :

2.1 complaints by one council employee against another council employee, or between a council employee and the council as employer.  These matters are dealt with under the council’s disciplinary and grievance procedures.

2.2 complaints against councillors.  Complaints against councillors are covered by the Code of Conduct for Members adopted by the Council on 1^st July 2012 (reaffirmed 13 May 2024). If a complaint against a Councillor is received by the council, it may be referred to the Standards Committee of Cornwall Council.  Further information on the process of dealing with complaints against Councillors may be obtained from the Monitoring Officer of Cornwall Council.

General Principles

The appropriate time for influencing Council decision-making is by raising your concerns before the Council debates and votes on a matter.  You may do this by writing to the Council in advance of the meeting at which the item is to be discussed.  There may also be the opportunity to raise your concerns in the public questions section of Council meetings. 

If you are unhappy with a Council decision, you may raise your concerns with the Council. Standing Orders prevent the Council from re-opening issues for six months from the date of the decision, unless there are exceptional grounds to consider this necessary and the special process set out in the Standing Orders is followed.

Complaints Procedure

You may make your complaint about the council’s procedures or administration to the Town Clerk in person, by phone, or by writing to or emailing the Town Clerk.  The addresses and numbers are set out below.

Wherever possible, the Clerk will try to resolve your complaint immediately.  If this is not possible, the Town Clerk will normally try to acknowledge your complaint within five working days.

If you do not wish to report your complaint to the Town Clerk, you may make your complaint directly to the Chairman of the Council (The Town Mayor) who, with a member of the Council, will try to resolve your complaint or report it to the Council or the appropriate Council Committee. The Town Clerk, or The Town Mayor with a member of the Council (as appropriate) will investigate each complaint, obtaining further information as necessary from you and/or from Council employees or councillors of the Council.

The Town Clerk or the Town Mayor will notify you within 20 working days of the outcome of your complaint and of what actions (if any) the Council proposes to take as a result of your complaint.  In exceptional cases, the twenty working days timescale may have to be extended.  If it is, you will be kept informed.

If you are dissatisfied with the response to your complaint, you may ask for your complaint to be referred to the Council, and (usually within eight weeks) you will be notified in writing of the outcome of the review of your original complaint.