How you can make a Complaint to the Combined Authority
The Combined Authority has a two-stage policy:
Stage One – Informal Complaint
We always wish to deal with your complaint as quickly and as efficient as possible, so we will always try to deal with your complaint informally. This means that you should phone or take your complaint to the office or person who dealt with your enquiry.
Our staff will do their absolute best to settle your complaint without you needing to do anything else.
Stage Two – Formal Complaint
If you have spoken to our staff about your complaint but they have not been able to put things right, or you are not happy with the result, the next step is for you to make a formal complaint in writing to the Monitoring Officer.
By law, every Combined Authority must designate one of its senior officers as the Monitoring Officer. The Monitoring Officer is responsible for ensuring that the Combined Authority acts and operates within the law.
You can make a complaint in a number of ways:
- submit your complaint via our Contact Us form
- write to Complaints, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, 2nd Floor, Pathfinder House, St Mary’s Street, Huntingdon, PE29 3TN
When you contact us, please detail your name and address (including your postcode) and your phone number.
If you prefer, you can ask a friend or relative to speak or write to us for you. We will need your written consent if you would like someone to act on your behalf.
What happens next?
The Monitoring Officer will ask a Director who has not been involved in your original complaint to look into your complaint.
If we cannot resolve your complaint immediately, we will write to you within three working days to let you know we have received your complaint. We will give you a reference number and let you know that we are investigating your complaint. This information will make it easier for you to contact the person dealing with your complaint if you need to.
The Director will investigate your complaint, take any necessary action and make sure they send a written reply within 15 working days.
If your complaint needs more investigation, and we cannot send you a written reply within 15 working days, we will write to you and let you know when you will receive a written reply.
If you wish to make an appointment to discuss a complaint please contact the Monitoring Officer.
Aims of the Complaints Policy
Our complaints policy aims to ensure that customers:
- know where and how to complain to us
- receive an acknowledgement and information on the progress of their complaint
- receive an appropriate response and action is taken where we have failed to provide a satisfactory service.
We are committed to treating all our customers fairly and equally.
We will use complaints to review and improve the way we provide services.
What is a complaint?
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of service the Combined Authority provides.
There are some complaints that will not be dealt with under this policy such as:
- Where legal processes are involved – where a legal challenge is being made regarding whether a decision or action is lawful;
- Where there is a more appropriate individual or organisation to deal with your complaint, such as a tribunal, Ombudsman or another local organisation or council;
- We would not normally deal with complaints about something that happened more than a year ago;
- Complaints about members of the Combined Authority – elected councillors have a separate complaints process and the Monitoring Officer can advise you about this.
- Whistleblowing policy – there is a separate policy relating to whistleblowing
- Complaints about Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. We have a separate policy for these types of complaints.
- The full Complaints Policy can be found here.
Choosing the correct organisation
Before raising a complaint to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (the Combined Authority), it’s important to ensure that you have raised the complaint with the correct organisation.
- The Combined Authority has not replaced existing local authorities; there are seven individual councils in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area who deliver the vast majority of services for your community
- The Combined Authority is separate from the Greater Cambridgeshire Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership and the Greater Cambridge Partnership (formerly called the “City Deal’)
- The Combined Authority has not replaced companies and organisations providing public transport in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area.
If you have a complaint about any transport services or street related matter, please contact your local authority for your area:
- Peterborough City Council
- Cambridgeshire County Council
If you have a complaint about the Greater Cambridge Partnership, visit their contact us page for more details.
What if I still do not feel happy with the response?
If you have been through stages one and two of the complaints procedure and you are still not happy with the results of the investigations, you can write to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Local Government Ombudsman
You can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman about your complaint at any time. However, the Ombudsman usually gives the Combined Authority the opportunity to investigate first.
You can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman in a number of ways:
- Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman, PO Box 4771, Coventry CV4 OEH
- Phone: 0300 061 0614
Text: ‘call back’ to 0762 480 3014
Website: www.lgo.org.uk
Leaflets about how to complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman can be found in our partner council’s offices or any library.