Make an official complaint

All Members must comply with the Kent Code of Conduct. The code sets out rules about how they should behave and requires them to disclose any personal interests they have.

Making a complaint

A complaint must be about conduct that occurred while the member(s) complained about were in office. Conduct of an individual before they were elected, co-opted or appointed to the authority, or after they have resigned or otherwise ceased to be a member, cannot be considered.

Your complaint must be about one or more named members of the following authorities:

• Gravesham
• Cobham
• Higham
• Luddesdown
• Meopham
• Shorne
• Vigo

Your complaint must be that the member(s) has, or may have, breached the relevant Code of Conduct. If your complaint is about a parish councillor, you should contact the parish clerk to obtain a copy of the Code adopted by that Council.

Complaints about dissatisfaction with a decision or action of the authority or one of its committees, a service provided by the authority or the authority’s procedures do not fall within the jurisdiction of the standards committee. Complaints about the actions of people employed by the authority also do not fall within the jurisdiction of the standards committee.

A complaint that a Councillor has breached the Code of Conduct needs to be made in writing and sent to the Council's Monitoring Officer either online or via post.

What to include in your complaint

Please include the following information and be as detailed as possible:

• The name of the councillor you are complaining about
• Why you think they are in breach of the relevant Code of Conduct
• Include any documents to support your complaint

It is very important that you set your complaint out fully and clearly and provide all the information at the outset. You should also provide any documents or other material that you wish the Monitoring Officer to consider where possible.

We recommend that you use our complaint form. You should tell us exactly what each person said or did that caused you to complain. If you are sending supporting documentation, please cross-reference it against the summary of your complaint.

You should be as detailed as possible and substantiate your complaint where you can. Although you are not required to prove your complaint at this stage of proceedings, you do have to demonstrate that you have reasonable grounds for believing that the member(s) complained about has breached the relevant Code of Conduct.

It is important to note that not every complaint will be referred for investigation or other action. The Monitoring Officer must decide whether this is appropriate. They will make this decision using referral criteria. If they decide not to refer your complaint for investigation or other action they will give you the reasons for this decision.

Further information

Further information on the Council’s procedure for dealing with Members Conduct Complaints can be found via the Council’s Constitution.