Council and democracy

Telling us when things go wrong

This is a guide to the Chief Executive's and Corporate Services complaints procedure which covers:

• Chief Executive's office (including Performance Improvement and Corporate Communications)
• Corporate Finance
• People and Property (including Hertfordshire Property and SERMU)
• County Secretary's (including Internal Audit, Corporate Services Business Support, Trading Standards, Lord Lieutenancy and Statutory Services except for the Registration services which has its own complaints procedure)
• Commercial Services and Information (including Hertfordshire Business Services)

If our services are not up to scratch:
We aim to offer a courteous and efficient service to all users at all times. Sometimes, even in the best run organisation, standards may not be met. If you feel we have done something wrong, or we have failed to do something we should have done, please let us know. If we have made a mistake, we will do our best to put it right and to learn from that mistake.

Talk to us:
Many problems can be resolved locally. Please talk to the staff involved if you are unhappy with the service you have received. They will do their best to sort out the problem simply and quickly.

Open to complaint:
If you have tried to sort out the problem and still feel dissatisfied, you may decide to make a written complaint. Please contact:

Andrew Laycock
County Secretary
Hertfordshire County Council
Hertford
Herts SG13 8DE

or email at Andrew.Laycock@hertscc.gov.uk. Explain the complaint and outline the steps taken so far to obtain satisfaction. Andrew Laycock will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within five working days and will put an investigation in hand immediately. You will normally receive a response within twenty eight working days; if there is a delay we will tell you why and keep you informed of progress.

The next steps:
If, after the investigation and response, you remain dissatisfied then please write to:

The Director of Children, Schools and Families
Hertfordshire County Council
County Hall
Hertford
Herts SG13 8DF

who will arrange an independent review of the complaint by the Head of Conciliation Advice and Appeals Service. If you remain dissatisfied, you may decide to contact the Local Government Ombudsman who works independently from the County Council. For contact details, please click on the signpost to the right of this page.

You may also wish to talk to your County Councillor. To find out how to do this ask at any library or call the County Councillor Linkline on 01992 556556.