Initial assessment process

If, after the pre-assessment it is considered that a complaint is valid, the District Council will carry out an initial assessment.   The Monitoring Officer will usually confirm the outcome of the initial assessment with you within 15 working days of the complaint being lodged.

During the Initial Assessment the subject Member will be notified of your complaint and (subject to the section on confidentiality above) your identity. They will be reminded to treat the information in the complaint appropriately and with respect to your right to raise the complaint with the Monitoring Officer and in line with the obligation to comply with enquiries made pursuant to Code of Conduct.  The subject Member will be given 10 working days to respond to or comment on your complaint.  If they do not respond or refuse to respond the Initial Assessment will be concluded without their input.

Views of the Parish Clerk

Where your complaint relates to a town or parish councillor, the Monitoring Officer may also inform the Parish Clerk of your complaint and seek the views of the parish clerk.

The District Council may reach one of the three following decisions on an allegation at Initial Assessment stage:

1. no further action should be taken on the allegation;
2. the matter should be dealt with through a process of informal resolution in the first instance (see section on informal resolution) or;
3. the matter should be referred for a formal investigation (see section on investigations).

If the District Council decides to take no action over a complaint, then as soon as possible after making the decision we will notify you and the subject Member of the decision and set out clearly the reasons for that decision, including the views of the independent person (where sought).  There is no right of appeal against a decision not to take any further action.

If the District Council decides that the complaint should be referred for formal investigation or informal resolution, we will notify the complainant and subject Member, stating what the allegation was and what further action is being taken. Likewise the parish clerk will be notified of complaints made in relation to a town or parish councillor. Complaints that have been accepted as anonymous may need reconsideration at this point.