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Introduction

Whether we have got something right, or could have done something better, we would like to hear what you think of our services.

information

Before making your complaint

If you are reporting an issue for the first time – for example, telling us about a pothole, an overflowing dog bin or a missed waste collection – please report rather than raising a complaint in the first instance, as this will give us an opportunity to put things right.

Please see our Contact Us page and select the ‘Report it’ link. You can then select the appropriate link to tell us about the problem.

If your complaint is about a missed bin collection please use this form
Missed collection

You can use the links below to give us your feedback – please complete the form within 60 minutes of starting.

Tell us what you think about Adult Social Care

To give feedback about Adult Social Care please use this button.

This short, anonymous feedback survey is for anyone who has recently received support from our Adult Social Care operational (frontline) teams.

Your feedback is really important to us and is crucial in helping us deliver the best possible support.

Tell us what you think about Children's Social Care

For feedback about Children’s Social Care, please use the following links. Please complete the form within 60 minutes of starting.

If you have a problem you would like resolved

Raise an issue with us about your care – You can contact Route 1 Advocacy for advice and support about how they can help you.

Schools

We do not manage school complaints. Schools are managed by the headteacher and governors, and any questions, problems or complaints must be raised with the school in the first instance. If this does not resolve the issue you should follow the school’s complaints procedure – which you will be able to find on the school’s website, or you can contact the school directly.

Complaints

With complaints it is far easier to find out what happened and put things right if you tell us straight away. As time passes it becomes more difficult to investigate events fairly and fully – people’s memories fade, staff who were involved leave the Council, or records may no longer be available. For these reasons, we will normally only accept complaints made within twelve months of the incident or circumstances that led to the complaint.

If your complaint is older than twelve months, please contact us so that we can tell you about other ways that might still be available to solve your problem.

What the Council considers to be a complaint

A complaint can be many things, and some possible situations are listed below. For example, you could be dissatisfied about.

  • The standard of service you have received from us
  • Our response to a request for service
  • Our actions
  • The behaviour of a member of staff
  • Harassment, bias or unfair discrimination, for example, this could include anti-Semitism as defined under the internationally recognised definition. Please see – antisemitism.uk/definition/ – we promise to investigate and seek to put right any unfairness or unfair discrimination

We do not mean

  • An initial request for a service, such as reporting a faulty streetlight or a pothole. We must have had the chance to provide the service or put something right, which we can only do if we have received a request or been told about a problem
  • Where a separate appeals procedure exists or a legal remedy is open to you, for example planning applications, or schools admissions policy
  • When you are unhappy about policies set by Somerset Councillors, for example a budget decision which changes the services available or how they are delivered
  • Insurance claims relating to alleged damage or injury – these will be dealt with by the Council’s insurance section
  • If your complaint is about policies set by other organisations
  • When your complaint is about alleged serious misconduct by an employee of the Council. This will be dealt with through our internal HR procedures, as it would not be appropriate to deal with the issue through the complaint’s procedure – we will not provide details or the outcome of those internal procedures, but we will let you know once internal processes are complete

How we will deal with your complaint

When we receive your complaint, it will be sent to the service team you are complaining about for them to investigate and respond to you. They understand the issues involved and are best placed to put things right as quickly as possible. We aim to reply to your complaint within 10 working days. If, for any reason, it is likely to take longer we will let you know.

If, however, you feel there are reasons why you cannot resolve your complaint direct with the service team, please contact us and we will discuss this with you and agree how to proceed.

You may feel you need independent support or help to make your complaint. There is a range of advocacy support available in Somerset, and we will be able to signpost you to organisations that may be able to help you.

Not happy with the response from the service team

You can contact us if you wish to take the matter further. We will clarify what you feel has not been addressed and the elements of the response you disagree with. In some cases, mediation or dispute resolution are the most effective ways to resolve complaints. In other cases, it may be appropriate for the Customer Experience Team to undertake a review, which will look at the issues you originally raised, the response you have received and consider the matters that you feel have not been adequately addressed. Whichever route is agreed, we aim to provide a full response within 20 working days. We will keep you updated on progress and will let you know if for any reason it is likely to take longer.

If you are still unhappy with our decision, you can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman at any time to ask if they would conduct an independent investigation. They will not normally investigate your complaint until the Council has had the opportunity to fully investigate it.

You can contact them on their website and fill in an online complaint form, or you can phone them on 0300 061 0614 – Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm.

Housing Ombudsman

Complaints about the Council in its role as a social landlord and its responsibilities for leasehold housing, are dealt with according to the law.

The Housing Ombudsman is on hand to provide residents with advice and support at any stage of the complaints process and can be contacted by either calling 0300 111 3000 , by email info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk or on their website via an online complaint form or by webchat. The Housing Ombudsman is unable to investigate your complaint until the Council’s two-stage complaints process has been completed but can be approached at any time for guidance.

As a member of the Housing Ombudsman scheme, Somerset Council comply with The Housing ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code which was last revised in April 2022. We regularly check our compliance with the Complaint Handling Code through the Housing Ombudsman’s self-assessment process. A copy of our most recent self-assessment can be found at the bottom of this page.

The Housing ombudsman also publish on their website where you can read about any findings the Ombudsman have made against us as a landlord in the last twelve months.

We are committed to providing information on this in publications shared with our tenants such as newsletters, annual reports and the Tenant Strategic Group.

Compliments and comments

It is also important for us to know about things that are going well or how the service can be improved, and to be able to give staff positive feedback.

When we receive your compliment, we will write to thank you and will pass your thanks on to all the people concerned.

Your comments will be passed to the service, and we will use these to help us improve.

Petitions and e-petitions

For more information about petitions, and what you need to do if you want to create and submit a petition, please see our Petitions page.

Last reviewed: March 15, 2024 by Neil

Next review due: September 15, 2024

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