Procedure for making complaints about Members of the Council

Since 8 May 2008 the responsibility for considering complaints that a councillor may have breached their Code of Conduct has moved from the Standards Board for England to the Standards Committees of local authorities.

What this means to you

If you want to complain about the conduct of a South Hams District Councillor, or a South Hams parish or town councillor, you must submit your complaint in writing to:

The Monitoring Officer
South Hams District Council
Follaton House
Plymouth Road
Totnes
Devon
TQ9 5NE

email: member.support@southhams.gov.uk              Fax: 01803 861477

Please use the SHDC Complaint Form.  You may email it or print it off and post it or fax it.  If you have difficulty in writing, please telephone Customer Services on 01803 861234 and ask for your complaint to be transcribed for you.

The Monitoring Officer will submit your complaint to an Assessment Sub-Committee of the Standards Committee and they will decide whether the complaint will be investigated.  Please note that the Sub-Committee can only deal with complaints about the behaviour of a Councillor.  It will not deal with complaints about things that are not covered by the Members’ Code of Conduct.

If you make a complaint under this procedure it must be about why you think a Councillor has not followed the Code of Conduct and you should specify which provision of the Code has been breached when you write in.  We will acknowledge your complaint and tell you what will happen next.

See the Code of Conduct for members of South Hams District Council.

The Codes of Conduct for town or parish councillors can be obtained from their respective town or parish clerks, but it may be helpful to know that most are similar to the District Council’s.

If you require information relating to other types of complaints about South Hams District Council or the services it provides, please contact our Customer Services Team at Follaton House, or telephone 01803 861234.  Further details can be found on our Complaints and Suggestions page.