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Hambleton District Council is committed to providing high quality services to its customers - but in any organisation things sometimes go wrong. Where people contact us to say we have not provided a satisfactory service, we treat this as a complaint and take it very seriously


How can I make a complaint?

If you are dissatisfied with a service or the way you have been treated you can complain by:-

• telephoning or writing to the relevant Department;
• visiting the relevant Department;
• contacting the employee who provided the service or his/her supervisor;
• contacting a Councillor (a list of Councillors names, addresses, wards and telephone numbers is available here. The list is also available at Council Offices)

A friend or relative can act on your behalf if you so wish.

If you are not sure which Department is responsible, the Council's reception staff at the Civic Centre, Stone Cross, Northallerton 0845 1211 555 or the Area Offices at Town Close, Stokesley 0845 1211 555 or Manor Road, Easingwold (01347) 821444 will help you. You can either telephone or call in.

The Council will not generally deal with anonymous complaints, but you can be assured of confidentiality where this is appropriate or requested. The Council may also direct you to the Ombudsman if it is felt that you and the Council will achieve nothing by dealing with your complaint through (all stages of) the Councils Complaints Procedure Opens in a new window, for example:

• if the Council believes a planning permission has been properly given and the complainant objects to the development, or
• the Council cannot provide the remedy you seek, or
• it is clear the Council is not going to change its view

Your complaint

will be investigated and dealt with as quickly as possible.

In it, you should tell us:

• what, in your opinion, we did wrong or did not do;
• how you were affected by this;
• what you feel we should now do about it.

All complaints are usually responded to in writing.

You should normally get a reply in 10 working days. If the complaint takes longer than usual to deal with because of its gravity or complexity, the investigating officer will keep in touch with you to let you know what is happening.


What if I want a second opinion?

If, after having your complaint investigated, you are still not satisfied, you can contact the Chief Officer of the Department concerned, who will carry out a review in conjunction with the Chief Executive. Again the response will normally be in 10 working days.


Still not happy?

If you remain dissatisfied, you can ask for the issue to be reviewed by the Council's Standards Committee. At this stage, you need to tell us why you feel such a review is necessary and what you expect to happen as a result of it. The Standards Committee will then meet as soon as practicable.


Taking it further

The Standards Committee is the last stage in the Council's Complaints Procedure, but if you remain dissatisfied you may contact the Local Government Ombudsman and ask for an independent investigation to be carried out.

You are not required to exhaust the Council's Complaints Procedure before referring the matter to the Ombudsman, which you can do at any time. However, the Ombudsman will usually expect you to have notified the Council about your complaint in writing before doing so and allow time for the Council to respond, unless the Ombudsman decides otherwise.

Details of how to contact the Ombudsman and what will happen next are contained in a leaflet you can get from Reception at the Civic Centre in Northallerton or the Area Offices at Stokesley and Easingwold, or on the website at: www.lgo.org.uk Opens in a new window


Who do I complain to?

If you're in any doubt, telephone 0845 1211 555 and our reception staff will help you.

The following is a general guide:

Chief Executive's Department:
Main Services: Council Committees; Elections and Electoral Registration; Legal Services; Licensing of Hackney Carriages/Private Hire Vehicles; Street Collections; Public Entertainment and Lotteries.

(Martyn Richards, Head of Legal & Democratic Services)


Financial Services Department:
Main Services: Audit; Benefits; Collection of Council Tax and other income; Payment of Accounts; Customer and Information Services and Community Safety

(Phillip Morton, Director of Resources)


Planning & Environmental Services Department:
Main Services: Building Control; Council Car Parks; Engineering; Industrial Sites; Leisure Services; Markets; Planning Applications; Environmental Health; Refuse Collection & Street Cleaning.

(Steve Quartermain, Director of Planning and Environmental Services)


The complaints procedure

Does not cover initial reports to the Council about problems or defects (such as footpath lights not working) but if you are not satisfied with the response you can use the Complaints Procedure.

Neither is it an appeals system against Council decisions which were properly taken, or a means of arbitration. It exists to check that everything was done properly and that correct procedures and policies were followed.

The full complaints policy and procedure can be viewed here Opens in a new window

Customer Complaints Guide Opens in a new window

If you have any comments on how the council deals with complaints, or you require more information on our complaints procedure, please contact:

Head of Customer & Information Services

Telephone: 01609 767004
Fax: 01609 767228
Opening hours: Mon-Thu: 8 .45am - 5.15pm
Fri: 8.45am - 4.45pm
Typetalk: 18001 0845 1211 555

Complaints about Councillors

Complaints that parish, town or district councillors may have breached the Code of Conduct must now be directed to the District Council's Standards Committee. From May 8, 2008 responsibility passed from the Standards Board for England to local authorities.

To register a complaint write to:

Chairman of the Assessment Sub-Committee
The Standards Committee
Hambleton District Council
Civic Centre
Stone Cross
Northallerton
North Yorkshire DL6 2UU

The Assessment Sub-Committee can only deal with complaints about the behaviour of a Member. It will not deal with complaints about anything not covered by the Members' Code of Conduct - it must be about why you think a Member has not followed the Code of Conduct.

For more information contact 0845 1211 555