Complaints about councillors

All councillors sign up to a Code of Conduct that says they must treat people equally, with respect and act honestly.

Our Standards Committee deals with breaches of the Code by councillors sitting on the Borough Council or the Town and Parish Councils.

Who you can complain about

You can make a complaint about individual councillors who are members of Dacorum Borough Council or one of the Parish or Town Councils within the borough.

Complaints about councillors relating to their role on Hertfordshire County Council should be referred to the Chief Legal Officer at the County Council.

There is a separate Council complaints system for considering complaints about the Council as a whole, Council services or employees. This can be found on our complaints page.

You can complain about a councillor breaking any part of the Code of Conduct (PDF 296KB).

What we cannot investigate

  • Complaints where a councillor is not named
  • Complaints that are not in writing
  • Incidents or actions that are not covered by the Code of Conduct
  • Incidents that happened before a councillor was elected
  • Complaints about the way in which a council conducts and records its meetings

To find out if your complaint needs to be dealt with in a different way, please use the contact details below.

How to make a complaint

We only accept written complaints - you can do this in either of the following ways:

Or
  • You can write a letter that covers all the points in the form.

Note: Please send any documents that support your complaint with your form or letter.

Confidentiality

We believe it is fair and just that a councillor who is the subject of a complaint has a right to know who has made the complaint and to be given a summary of the complaint.

If you have a very good reason for wanting to keep your details or the details of your complaint kept confidential, you can request this on your complaint form. This will be considered during the initial assessment of your complaint. However, confidentiality requests will only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

If your request for confidentiality is not granted we will tell you and will usually give you the option of withdrawing your complaint.

Where to send your complaint

Email: mark.brookes@dacorum.gov.uk
Address: Mark Brookes, Solicitor to the Council, Dacorum Borough Council, The Forum, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1DN
Telephone: 01442 228229

If you cannot write your complaint in English, we can arrange to have it translated for you. Details of translation services are available on request.

How will my complaint be dealt with?

Your complaint will be dealt with by an Assistant Director and the initial assessment will be carried out within 20 working days of receiving it. To find out more about this, visit our how we deal with your complaint page.

Page Last Updated: Monday, 09 March 2020 at 09:36 AM