Complaints policy

We do not consider the below complaints and will not handle them through our complaints procedure:

• A request for a service, or where there has been an service failure which is easily rectified, e.g. a report of litter in a park, or a missed bin collection. If you want to report a local issue, please use our report it form. 
• A request for service can however become a complaint if we have failed to address the issue in a timely manner, the quality of service was poor, or our decisions/actions have not followed council policy - make a complaint.
• We will not consider complaints about decisions that are still being processed or have not yet been made, purely because you disagree with the potential outcome.
• Once we have made a decision, you may request a review/appeal if you believe the decision is wrong (see below).
• If however your concerns relate to the standard of service you have received while your application is being considered (such as staff conduct, delays, or communication), we will review these at any time under our complaints process - make a complaint.

We also handle the below outside of our complaints procedure:

Council tax and benefit

If the way we served you was acceptable, but you do not agree with a decision we have made, we offer the following appeal processes:

• Appeal a local council tax support decision 
• Appeal housing benefits or change of circumstances decision

Housing and homelessness

If the way we served you was acceptable, but you do not agree with a decision we have made, we offer the following review processes:

• Requst a review of a homelessness decision
• Request a review of a housing register decision
• Request a review of an offer of temporary accommodation (you cannot request a review of interim accommodation - find out more).

Planning appeals

• Appeal the outcome of a planning decision (this is only available to applicants) through the planning appeal process.
• If you are a neighbour or third party and you are unhappy with a planning decision made by an officer (through delegated powers) or by planning committee, unfortunately you have no right of appeal. You can however seek a judicial review through the planning courts - find out more.

Councillors and council meeting decisions

• A complaint made about elected members - find out how to complain about a councillor.
• A complaint about a decision of full council, cabinet or other decision-making committee which can only be challenged via a judicial review. Find out about judicial reviews. 

Lichfield West Midlands Traded Services & partner complaints

• Stage one complaints about operational matters at local leisure centres - please contact Lichfield West Midlands Traded Services (LWMTS). Stage two complaints about leisure centres are escalated to the council.
• Stage one complaints about disabled facilities grants - please contact Lichfield West Midlands Traded Services (LWMTS). Stage two complaints about disabled facilities grants are escalated to the council.
• A complaint regarding operational matters at the Lichfield Garrick - please contact the Lichfield Garrick team. 
• Complaints about services provided by other local authorities in the area - for example Staffordshire County Council, the fire or police authorities. 

Complaints that have already been considered by another body

• A complaint that has been considered by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman and has been closed. If the Local Government Ombudsman receives a complaint before it has been investigated by the council, it will usually be passed to the council to investigate in line with this policy.
• A complaint that is subject to, or has already been through, court or tribunal proceedings, or there is a separate appeals process to a court or tribunal service.

Other complaints

• Find out how to appeal a food safety rating.
• Find out how we respond to Freeman of the Land complaints and queries.
• Find out how to make a complaint that may lead to an insurance claim - please contact our insurance team.
• Contractual disputes that have not exhausted the dispute resolution outlined in the contract - please email procurement@lichfielddc.gov.uk.
• A complaint about the loss of personal data as a result of an action by the council - find out more about how we respond to a suspected data breach. 
• A complaint that has been made/is being handled through our whistleblowing policy.
• Whilst it is vital that our staff can communicate clearly and well with all customers, we will not accept complaints specifically about a member of staffʹs accent or dialect in line with the council's fluency duty.
• Whilst we will look into anonymous complaints, there is often a limit as to how far we can progress such complaints.