St. Columb Major Town Council

Complaints Procedure

Adopted by Full Council, 3rd March 2026

St. Columb Major Town Council recognises that from time to time there will be concerns expressed by members of the public over the activities of the Council or one of its members or employees. To address these issues the Council has adopted a procedure for the handling of complaints. This procedure allows people to have a form of address to the Council if they feel they have a complaint, or have been unfairly treated in their dealings with the Council staff, Councillors, the Council or its Committees.

VERBAL COMPLAINTS

  1. On receipt of a complaint by telephone, letter or email the Town Clerk will try to satisfy the complainant immediately or as soon as is practicable.
  2. If the Clerk is unable to answer the complaint immediately, then full details of the complaint together with the complainant’s telephone number etc will be recorded so that a further verbal response can be made as soon as possible.
  3. If a verbal response is unable to satisfy, then the Town Clerk will ask that the complaint be put in writing in order that it can be investigated more fully.
  4. A log of verbal complaints will be maintained by the Town Clerk and this will be reported to the Town Council quarterly.

WRITTEN COMPLAINTS – Council Activities & Procedures

  1. On receiving a written complaint, the Town Clerk shall try to settle the complaint directly.
  2. If the complaint is about the behaviour of a member or employee of the Council, the Town Clerk must also notify the person and offer the opportunity for comment on the manner in which it is intended to try and settle the complaint.
  3. If necessary, the Town Clerk will send a holding letter or email to the complainant to allow further time to address the issues raised.
  4. The Town Clerk or Town Mayor shall bring any written complaint, which has not been settled, to the next Full Council meeting and the Town Clerk shall notify the complainant of the date of the meeting. The complainant will be offered the opportunity to explain the nature of the complaint to the meeting.
  5. The Town Clerk shall consult with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor to consider whether the written complaint warrants discussion at a Council meeting in the absence of the press and public, with the decision on the complaint shall be announced at the Council meeting in public.
  6. The Town Clerk will communicate in writing the decision that has been made by the Council and the nature of any action taken by the Council.

COMPLAINTS AGAINST A MEMBER/OFFICER OF THE COUNCIL

  1. Any complaint against a member or officer must be submitted in writing, the initial verbal complaint shall be logged.
  2. If the complaint is against the actions of the Town Clerk, it should be submitted in writing to the Town Mayor.
  3. If the complaint is made against the actions of a member or employee, the Town Clerk will present the complaint to Full Council the Staffing committee for consideration at a meeting held in the absence of the press or public.
  4. If the complaint is made against the actions of the Town Clerk, the Town Mayor will present the complaint to Full Council or the Staffing committee for consideration at a meeting held in the absence of the press or public.
  5. The complainant may be invited to attend part of the meeting to explain the nature of their complaint, in the absence of the public and press.
  6. Persons mentioned in the complaint will have the opportunity to explain the nature of their actions to the meeting, in the absence of the public and press.
  7. The result of any Council consideration of a complaint will be recorded as a minute by the Town Clerk or Staffing committee as appropriate.

 

Complaints against a member of the Council must be submitted to the Monitoring Officer of Cornwall Council, whose contact details are available to from the Town Council.