Our Parish Council has no Complaints procedure

Question

Is there a legal requirement for Parish Councils to have a Complaints procedure? Ours doesn't have one, they state in their Standing Orders that complaints are dealt with by the Parish Council in the manner adopted by the PC, but when asked for the policy I was sent the Standing Orders. They have not responded to a complaint which I sent them over a month ago. I had to request an acknowledgement after 18 days, which I received, and have heard nothing since.

Answer 1

In my experience despite having a complaints policy, unless your Town or Parish Council is working as it should ie according to the Good Cllr Guide (GCG) a complaints policy has no teeth.
There is nothing in place to control Parish or Town Councils.

We are really struggling with this in our Town Council where certain members are focused on maximising their power which has little to do with using the precept to enhance the community (as per the GCG).

Comments

Sounds exactly like ours. Trouble is they have absolutely no idea what they're doing. I know at least 4 laws they have contravened in the last two months! They NEVER consult the residents on anything. One of my colleagues has lived in the parish for 11 years and only just found out that there is a parish council!!!

Answer 2

Our Town Council does have a Complaints policy and I believe it is good practice to have one. We have a Complaints Committee and also an Appeals Committee obviously no councillor appears on both.