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This is the procedure for complaints about a KCC service,
other than
schools or
Adult Care
Services or Children's Social Services, which have separate
complaints procedures.
Step one
Please start by raising the issue with the person you have been
dealing with at the county council, or their immediate manager.
Most problems can be resolved this way.
Step two
If you feel you need to pursue your complaint further, then
please contact the managing director of the service you have been
dealing with. You can do this by letter (if you're not sure who
this is, visit our
who to contact page). Alternatively, you can
e-mail
your complaint, telephone/typetalk our Contact Centre on 08458
247 247 (Minicom 08458 247 905), or
complain online.
If you put your complaint in a letter or email, or send it
online, you can expect to receive an acknowledgement within three
days and a full reply normally within four weeks. If your complaint
raises complex issues that cannot be answered within four weeks, we
will keep you informed of progress at four-weekly intervals until
we are able to respond fully to your complaint.
If you phone or visit one of our offices with your complaint,
our staff will try to help you by answering your query or taking
down details so that it can be investigated.
They will telephone or write to you to tell you the outcome of
the investigation as soon as they can.
Your local county
councillor may be able to help resolve your complaint by
pursuing it on your behalf with the managing director concerned or
with the chief executive.
Step three
If you are still not satisfied after all these steps have been
taken, you have the right to take your complaint to the Local
Government Ombudsman (except for a complaint about Freedom of
Information). The Local Government Ombudsman is an independent and
impartial person, appointed by central government to investigate
complaints of maladministration by local authorities. A leaflet
explaining how to complain to the Local Government Ombudsman is
available from the
Local Goverment Ombudsman website (link opens
in a new window) or by contacting their advice line (telephone and
typetalk) on 0845 602 1983, or by
e-mailing them.
Freedom of information
If your complaint is about KCC's response to a request for
information under the
Freedom of Information Act or related legislation, you should,
in the first instance, send full details of your complaint to the
Chief Executive (at Sessions House, County Hall, Maidstone, Kent
ME14 1XQ) and ask him to arrange an internal review.
If you are still unhappy following an independent review, you
can raise the matter with the Information Commissioner. Advice on
the Information Commissioner's role is available by
telephone/typetalk 01625 545745,
e-mailing the Information
Commissioner or visiting the Information Commission website (link opens in a
new window). |