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Sheffield City Council's Complaints Procedure
This page explains how your complaint will be dealt with.
Our approach to handling complaints
- We welcome all feedback from any customer or anyone who is affected by Council activity.
- If we have done something that is causing you a problem then we want to know about it in order to put things right for you.
- If we got something wrong we will admit it and apologise to you.
- If you have not received good service we need to know so that we can improve the way our services are provided.
- It may be that you expect us to do more or better than we currently do or you disagree with a Council policy. We record and use this feedback to see where we can improve services to better meet what customers want.
- We want to try to resolve complaints as quickly as possible and this process is designed to achieve this.
Whatever your complaint, we will treat all customers equally and fairly. All complaints will be dealt with in a consistent way.
You will not be discriminated against for making a complaint against a service.
If your complaint is about a Social Care Service, please read the additional information produced by the Customer Relations Team about the statutory timescales and processes that apply for these complaints.
If your complaint is about a school, then you should raise it with the Head Teacher or the Chair of Governors. Support for parents can be obtained from the Council's Advice and Conciliation Service.
For all other complaints about Council services please read on:
Answering your Complaint - What Will Happen?
Investigating Your Complaint
When can I expect an answer to my complaint?
Where little investigation is needed to fully answer your complaint, we will give you a reply within seven days of receiving it.
If your complaint is more complicated and will take longer to answer then we will contact you within seven days to tell you what is happening and who is dealing with it. We will normally give you a full answer to this type of complaint within 28 days.
Please understand that a small number of more complex complaints may take longer than 28 days to fully investigate. If this happens we will tell you why we need longer and we will propose a timetable for completing the investigation into your complaint.
Who will deal with it?
The team or service who are responsible for the matter you are raising are normally the best people to sort out a problem or explain what has happened, and learn from your experience. They should be the best people to look at your complaint and reply to you.
If the complaint is about a particular member of staff's behaviour, their manager will look at the matter and reply to you.
If you have concerns about who is handling your complaint or how they are dealing with it, then please tell us about them.
If your complaint needs an answer from two or more services then we will normally arrange for one service to coordinate the reply to you.
What will the person dealing with your complaint do?
They will keep you informed of progress.
They may contact you to clarify what your complaint is about, and to discuss what you would like done to put things right.
They will put their decision in writing to you explaining any action that is proposed to address the problems you have experienced.
They will ask you to say if you are not satisfied with the outcome or handling of your complaint and tell you about what happens if you want your complaint reviewed.
Where they agree with your complaint they will look to change what caused the complaint and the way the service is delivered.
Can anyone help or support me with my complaint?
There is a range of groups that can support you with making or pursuing a complaint - for example:
- The Citizen Advice Bureau service/Community Law Centre.
- Local voluntary organisations or specialist advocacy services.
- Translators and interpreters.
- Or someone else of your choice, eg a friend, family member or your local councillor or MP.
Review of your Complaint
If you are not happy with our answer to your complaint or the way your complaint has been investigated, we would like the chance to review your complaint to try and remedy what you are unhappy about.
A review is handled by a senior manager responsible for the service you are complaining about. To request a review of your complaint, tell the person who answered it and they will arrange for a senior manager to review it. Please tell us of the particular things that you want them to look at.
The senior manager will write to you to tell you what they will be doing and when you can expect a reply. They will write to you with their decision within 28 days of your request for a review.
What if I still feel that my complaint hasn't been dealt with fully or properly?
You can complain to the Local Government Ombudsman if you have suffered "injustice" as a result of "maladministration" by the Council. This means that you have been directly affected by something that the Council has done wrong, or failed to do.
The Ombudsman cannot question whether a Council's decision or action is right or wrong simply because you disagree with it.
In most cases, the Ombudsman will not investigate a complaint unless the Council has had a reasonable opportunity to respond to it.
You can view and download a complaints leaflet and/or a complaints form from the "How to Complain" section of the Local Government Ombudsman website. These are also available in a number of other languages.
Complaints against Sheffield City Council should be sent to:
Anne SeexLocal Government OmbudsmanBeverley House17 Shipton RoadYorkYO30 5FZ
Telephone: 01904 380200
Fax: 01904 380269
Email: enquiries.york@lgo.org.uk
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