Councillors and MPs

This guide assumes you have some knowledge of the types of things we can investigate - see what we can and cannot look at and complaint fact sheets for more information on this.

I am a councillor or MP. Can I complain?

You can only complain about your own council in your capacity as a ‘member of the public’ - somebody directly affected by a council service you receive.

We usually can’t investigate complaints about the conduct of councillors, unless the issue is in relation to the councillor carrying out an administrative function of the council that has caused the person complaining an injustice. Since the closure of Standards for England in 2012, all authorities must have local arrangements to investigate complaints about standards.

Can I help somebody else complain?

You can help somebody in your area to complain, firstly to the council or service provider. See our Top tips for making a complaint

If the issue is not sorted out you can help somebody use our service. You must have their permission to do so. See our step by step process to making a complaint for information on how to complain.

Support for my role in handling complaints

Our workbook for councillors, produced in conjunction with the Local Government Association, aims to:

  • take you through the complaints process and your role in it
  • provide an overview of our role and the type of complaints we deal with
  • direct you to sources of information for monitoring complaints
  • explain how to use complaints to drive service improvement
  • signpost sources of information for complaints that are outside your council’s remit.

Leaflets

You can print leaflets about our service to give to people in your area.

Useful links

Some other organisations that may be able to help with issues around local services:

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