General Complaint Information
Complaint Information
A complaint is generally defined as any expression of dissatisfaction specifically relating to a council service, or a body acting on behalf of the council, about the actions the service has taken, or a lack of action that has occurred.
If at the end of the service request process, you remain dissatisfied, you can contact the Complaints & Customer Care Team to raise a formal complaint. If you are not happy with something we either have or have not done, we want to hear from you.
Tameside Council provides an impartial, fair and structured process for dealing with complaints and any information provided will be treated seriously and in confidence.
It is our aim to make sure you get a response as soon as possible, and where we can resolve issues quickly we will always endeavour to do so. Where cases are more complex, you might be asked to agree a statement of complaint to ensure that all issues are fully understood and can be investigated; in these cases resolution may take a little longer.
Areas of Complaint
There are three distinct areas in terms of the Council’s complaints process that you can access; the links below provide further information on how you can make a complaint relating to the specific nature of your concern:
Children’s Social Care Complaints – relate to issues regarding Children’s Social Care (CSC).
Adult’s Social Care Complaints – relate to issues regarding Adult’s Social Care (ASC).
Corporate Services Complaints – relate to issues regarding any other Council wide service.
There are some complaints that do not fall within the Council’s jurisdiction to investigate; therefore it may be of assistance if you are aware of any exemptions to the process before making your complaint. Information as to any areas of concern that cannot be considered via the Council’s complaint process can be accessed via the following link:
Issues the Council’s Complaints Process Cannot Consider
Consent
If you are making a complaint on behalf of another person, it may be necessary for us to seek consent from that person to allow us to talk to you about that case.
Where consent is sought but not provided, it may not be possible to provide a substantive response to the concerns raised and any information that can be included may be limited..
If you have any queries around consent issues, the Complaints and Customer Care Team will be able to provide further information and to provide guidance around the process.
How we deal with anonymous contact
The Council understands that people may find it difficult to make a complaint and would like to offer assurances that all complaints are treated in the strictest confidence. It is your right to complain and we will always offer assistance to ensure that any issue highlighted to us is suitably investigated.
If you do not provide us with a name, address or contact details, it will not be possible for us to respond to you with information about the outcome of the complaint investigation.
The Council cannot investigate any anonymous complaints received regarding noise nuisance. This is because in order to establish if a statutory noise nuisance exists, we need complainants to complete diary sheets outlining how often the noise disturbs them, how long it goes on for and what effect it has on them.
If you are anxious about making a complaint, please get in touch with us and supply your name and number. An officer will contact you to explain how a noise nuisance investigation is undertaken. You can then decide if you wish to proceed with your complaint.
Involvement of the Ombudsman (LGSCO)
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) are independent from the Council and investigate complaints about maladministration.
You retain the right to approach the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) during any stage of the complaints process. However, the Ombudsman would ordinarily expect that contact is made with the appropriate council in the first instance, so that any issues raised can be considered locally and an attempt to reach a suitable resolution can be made.
If you do take your complaint straight to the LGSCO without having first consulted the responsible council about the issue, they may refer you back to access the council’s own complaints process.
If you have been through all stages of the Council’s complaints process and are still unhappy, you can ask the LGSCO to review your complaint.
The Ombudsman investigates complaints in a fair and independent way - it does not take sides. It is a free service.
For advice on making a complaint, or to make a complaint over the telephone, please call the LGSCO Advice Team on 0300 061 0614, Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.00pm. You can obtain more information about the LGSCO and the complaints process from their website
www.lgo.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Contact Details: Complaints & Customer Care Team
The easiest way of making your complaint is online using the following links:
Children’s Social Care Complaints – relate to issues regarding Children’s Social Care.
Adult’s Social Care Complaints – relate to issues regarding Adult’s Social Care.
Corporate Services Complaints – relate to issues regarding any other Council service.
Should you require any further advice in relation to your complaint or if there is any issue with making your complaint online, you can contact the Complaints and Customer Care Team via any of the following methods:
- By telephone - 0161 342 3535
- By email – complaints@tameside.gov.uk
- By letter – TMBC Complaints, Level 2, (Complaints Team) PO BOX 317, Ashton under Lyne, OL6 0G
- By using our online request form here