How to complain about a city or parish councillor
You can complain to our Monitoring Officer about a city or parish councillor if:
- You are unhappy with their behaviour
- You believe they have breached the Council's Code of Conduct (Part 5, Section 1 of the Peterborough City Council Constitution)
Our Monitoring Officer can only consider complaints where it relates to a councillor's behaviour when they are acting in their capacity as a member of their council.
The Code of Conduct will not apply to events where the councillor is clearly acting in a personal capacity - i.e. as a private citizen or when campaigning on behalf of their political party.
We acknowledge complaints within five working days.
If you can't use the online form, or prefer not to, you can either:
- Email monitoringofficer@peterborough.gov.uk to request a paper form
- Call 01733 747474 (open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
Guidance for making a complaint about a councillor
When making a complaint about a councillor, you must state why you think the councillor has not followed the standards set out in the Code of Conduct.
Examples could include:
- Unlawfully discriminating against someone
- Failing to declare a personal / prejudicial interest
- Bullying
- Failing to treat people with respect
- Using their position improperly, to their own or someone else's advantage
Our form will ask you which standards you think the councillor has breached.
We will need you to provide your name and contact information so we can:
- Acknowledge your complaint
- Keep you informed of progress
Please indicate on the form if you wish to keep your name and address confidential. Although we do not normally investigate anonymous complaints, we will consider requests for confidentiality if the complainant can evidence that it is in the public interest to anonymise the complaint. I.e. that it would cause demonstrable physical or mental harm to the complainant to disclose their details.
What happens when you make a complaint
Our Monitoring Officer will acknowledge your complaint within five working days. They will then review the complaint and, after consultation with the Independent Person, decide whether the complaint is admissible.
If the complaint is deemed admissible, the following outcomes are possible:
- That the complaint warrants investigation
- That it may be suitable for alternative resolution without investigation
- That the complaint does not warrant further action
The initial assessment of the complaint will normally be completed within 28 days of its receipt. Where the Monitoring Officer has taken a decision, you will be informed in writing of their decision and the reasons for the decision.
You can view our full protocol outlining the lifecycle of a complaint in the documents below.
Guidance documents
We have published two guidance documents about complaints and confidentiality. They set out how to complain about a councillor and our arrangements for dealing with such complaints.
Councillors' Code of Conduct
All standards matters, including consideration and determination of outstanding complaints, are the responsibility of the council.
You can find the Councillors' Code of Conduct as part of the council's constitution.
The Localism Act 2011
The Localism Act 2011 introduced significant changes to the standards regime.
'The Localism Act 2011 states 27(1) "A relevant authority must promote and maintain high standards of conduct by members and co-opted members of the authority."
Each authority adopts and determines the content of their own Code of Conduct.
Further information about our councillors
You can find further information on the role of a councillor and political groups on the councillor information page.
The arrangements detail the procedures for dealing with complaints, the standards regime is dealt with by the Constitution and Ethics Committee.
Contact details
You can contact our Monitoring Officer using the following details:
Monitoring Officer
Chief Executive’s Department
Peterborough City Council
Town Hall
Bridge Street
Peterborough
PE1 1HG