Your Views - Comments, Compliments and Complaints

British Sign Language: You can view an outline of the council's general complaints procedure by clicking the BSL link on the right.

Please note: the procedure for complaining about adult social services is slightly different. You can view details of that procedure in BSL by clicking the Complaints - Children's and Adult Social Services link on the left.

We listen to your views

This page is your guide to commenting, complimenting and complaining.

Islington Council is committed to providing excellent services that are accessible to all residents and we believe the best way to improve our services is to listen to your views.

If you have any comments – either positive or negative – about our services, or suggestions about how we can improve them, we’d like to hear from you.

By letting us know about any concerns you have as soon as possible, we can work to resolve them quickly, so that you shouldn’t have to make a formal complaint.

However, if you do have an issue that you wish to complain about, you have the right to do so. Making a complaint won’t affect the services you receive, but it will help us to improve the quality of how we deliver them.

How can I let you know what I think?

You can tell us about your experiences of using our services or make a complaint in any of the following ways:

• Complete an online form.
• Visit one of our offices to discuss your concerns.
• Write to the Customer Service Team at Islington Council, Town Hall, Upper Street, London N1 2UD.
• Telephone Contact Islington on 020 7527 2000.

We will aim to:

• sort out your complaint as quickly as possible
• apologise when things have gone wrong
• keep you up to date about what we are doing
• make sure we put the problems right

What happens next?

We will pass comments and compliments to the relevant service.

Complaints go through a procedure, made up of the three following stages:

Stage One

Your complaint will be passed to the relevant department, where it will be investigated and responded to. You should receive a response within ten working days. If we are unable to respond fully within this timescale, we will contact you to explain why.

Stage Two

If you are dissatisfied with the response you receive, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss it with you and try to resolve the issue. If you remain dissatisfied, let us know and we will arrange for a more senior manager to investigate and respond in writing within ten working days.

Stage Three

If at the end of stage 2, you still feel you have not received a satisfactory response, you can ask for your concerns to be looked into by the Customer Service Team. The team will consider your complaint and, if necessary, carry out an independent investigation on behalf of the Chief Executive. You should expect to receive their response within 25 working days.

Please note: There are different procedures for dealing with complaints about certain services the council or its partners provide. These include schools, Housing and Adult Social Services and Children's Services. If your complaint relates to one of these areas, the relevant service will contact you directly once they have received your comments.

What can I do if I still feel my concerns have not been properly dealt with?

If you remain dissatisfied with how we have dealt with your complaint, you may contact The Local Government Ombudsman, an independent, impartial and free service.

The Ombudsmen can investigate complaints about how the council has done something.

Please note: they cannot question what a council has done simply because someone does not agree with it.

You can contact them at:

The Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry CV4 0EH
Tel: 0845 602 1983 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm)
Email: advice@lgo.org

For more information, download a copy of the Comments, Compliments and Complaints Leaflet at the bottom of this page.

What if my complaint is about an elected member?

If you wish to make a complaint about a councillor or co-opted member, contact the Standards Board.

Complaints and Equalities

Islington Council is committed to providing people with equal opportunities, both in the provision of service and in our role as a major employer. We believe that all people have the right to be treated with dignity and respect.

We want to collect information about people so that we can tailor our services to meet their needs and also make sure that we are not doing anything that stops some people who fit into certain groups from having access to services, jobs or opportunities. We are determined to eliminate unfair discrimination and we shall use information we collect to change our policies and practices if that is what we need to do.

We would be grateful if you would help us by completing the Equalities Monitoring form which you can download below.

If you would like further details of what we ask you for and how we will use the information you give us, please visit our Equalities Monitoring page.

How did we do?

Once you have finished, please spare some time to share your thoughts about how we dealt with your complaint. We are also interested in how you think the service could be improved.

• Please use this on-line survey to tell us what you think

Please note: that the information you provide will not affect any requests for services you may make in the future.

When you have completed the survey your name will be entered into a prize draw. You could win £50 worth of shopping vouchers. The draw will be made every 3 months and the winner will be contacted by a member of the customer service team.