Corporate Complaint

The information on this page relates to any user of the London Borough of Brent, or the London Borough of Harrow (the Councils). If you wish to complain about Trading Standards or any other Council unit which is not Brent or Harrow please contact the appropriate Local Authority direct.

To find another London Borough you can use a clickable map of London (London Research Centre site)

To find your local Trading Standards Service, visit Trading Standards Central

Although this page is primarily about enabling you to complain about Brent Council or Harrow Council, or a specific department, the on-line form can also be used to make constructive suggestions. If something occurs to you in your dealings with the Council it would be useful for us to know. All suggestions submitted to us are taken as seriously as complaints, and documented procedures have to be followed. At the very least you will be contacted by a member of the management team regarding your suggestion.

Although every effort has been taken to ensure that the information on this page is accurate and up-to-date, for some of the information we are relying on documents outside of our control. In the very unlikely event, we apologise for any inconvenience caused by out of date information on this page.

This page includes information on:

• Our commitment to you
• How to make a complaint
• Other ways to make a complaint
• Where to send your complaint
• On-line form

Our commitment to you

We aim to provide high-quality services to local people. But there may be times when things go wrong and you feel dissatisfied. When this happens we want to hear about it so that we can explain things and put them right.

This page gives you information about how to make a complaint about Brent or Harrow Council and what we will do to resolve your complaint.

We aim to:

• Make it easy for you to complain
• Provide you with information on how to complain including the name of the person dealing with your complaint.
• Make sure your complaint receives a full and fair investigation
• Sort out your complaint quickly
• Apologise when things have gone wrong and make sure we put them right.
• Give you information about who to contact if you are still unhappy
• Put you in touch with your local Councillor if you want their help.

How to make a complaint

If you are unhappy with any aspect of the Council's services, we want you to tell us. For example, if you are dissatisfied with the quality of services we provide, the conduct of Council staff or Council policies which you think are unfair, it is important that you let us know. Your complaint may well improve things for everyone.

You can make your complaint by telephone, in writing or in person at any of the Council's offices or One Stop Shops. A downloadable form is provided below for you to complete and post to the relevant service unit or Complaint Officer.

Our complaints procedure has three stages:

We want to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible. The first step is to contact either the Service Unit Manager for the service you want to complain about or in Brent you can also use one of the Council's One Stop Shops. In Harrow you can contact the Civic Centre as an alternative. Contact details are listed below. The Service Unit Manager will try to sort out your complaint immediately. If not, they will reply to you within 15 working days. If you do not know who to contact, telephone the One Stop Shop Telephone Team on 020 8937 1200 (Brent), or 020 8863 5611 (Harrow)

If you are not happy with the reply you get at stage One, you can contact a Complaints Officer within the Council and ask them to investigate your complaint. The list below gives contact details. A senior member of staff will then investigate your complaint. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 5 working days and you will normally receive a full written reply within 20 working days.

If you are still unhappy with the response to your complaint at Stage Two, you can contact the Chief Executive. If you contact him within 20 days of receiving your response to Stage Two, he will undertake a final investigation of your complaint. Your request for a further investigation will be acknowledged within 5 working days and you will receive a full written reply within 20 working days. If your complaint is about Social Services there is an extra step with a review panel.

We may handle some complaints differently. This might happen if:

• You have a seperate right of appeal. For example, you have to follow other procedures if you are concerned about planning decisions, or decisions about Housing Benefit or the amount of Council Tax you pay.
• The Council has to follow special procedures by law, as with complaints about schools or social services.
• Legal proceedings are involved.

We will tell you as soon as possible if we are going to handle your complaint differently.

Click here for Brent Councils Online Corporate Complaint page at Brent Council's Web site .

Other ways to make a complaint

If you feel we have treated you unfairly you can complain to the Local Government Ombudsman. He can investigate any complaint against the Council but he will refer your complaint back to the Council if he doesn't feel that we have had the opportunity to investigate it first.

The Local Government Ombudsman

www.lgo.org.uk.

Your local MP or Councillor may also be able to help you make a complaint. You can get the name and address of your local ward councillor and your MP from your local library, Brent's One Stop Shops, or Harrow's Civic Centre.

If you feel that you have been unfairly treated because of your:- age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation and gender reassignment. you can complain to the

Equality & Human Rights Commission:

London Office

Community Law Centres and local Citizens' Advice Bureaux can also help you make a complaint.

Brent Citizens Advice Bureau

Harrow Citizens Advice Bureau

Contact details for Council Agencies which may be able to assist, including Brent's One Stop Shops can be found on the websites of either Brent or Harrow.

Where to send your complaint

Click here for Brent Councils Online Corporate Complaint page at Brent Council's Web site .

which lists all Brent Councils Departments