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Councillor Complaint Online Form

Please complete the digital form below to submit a complaint about a councillor.

+ Need additional support completing this form?

If you are unable to complete the online form, or download and complete the form by hand, or if you need assistance to do so, please contact legal.support@ashford.gov.uk or call 01233 330588 for further help.

View our guidance on how to make a councillor complaint [pdf] 203KB.

If you would rather complete the form by hand, please download and print our councillor complaint form [pdf] 165KB and send it to:

The Monitoring Officer
The Directors' Suite, Level 2
Ashford Borough Council
Civic Centre
Tannery Lane
Ashford
Kent TN23 1PL

1. Your details

Please provide us with your name and contact details.

Please provide your first name.
Please provide your last name.
Please provide your full address and post code.
Please provide a daytime telephone number.
Please provide an evening telephone number.
Please provide a mobile telephone number.
Please provide an email address we can use to contact you.

2. Brief details of breach of code of conduct

Please provide the councillor's first name, last name, and the council/local authority they represent.
In the case of Ashford Borough Council Councillors, this will be Paragraph 3, 4, 5 or 7. Please also provide the relevant sub paragraph.
Please provide a brief description explaining how you think the code of conduct has been breached. You will be asked to provide full details later in the form.

3. Specific details about the breach of code of conduct

Please provide information about the breach that has taken place.

It is important that you provide all the information you wish to have taken into account by the Monitoring Officer when he (acting in consultation with the Independent Person) decides whether to take any action on your complaint. For example:

  • You should be specific, wherever possible, about exactly what you are alleging the councillor said or did. For instance, instead of writing that the councillor has conducted himself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing his office or the Authority into disrepute, you should state what it was they said or did.
  • You should provide the dates of the alleged incidents wherever possible. If you cannot provide exact dates it is important to give a general timeframe.
  • You should confirm whether there are any witnesses to the alleged conduct and provide their names and contact details if possible.
  • You should provide any relevant background information and evidence to substantiate the complaint. If no or insufficient evidence is submitted to substantiate the complaint, the complaint may be rejected.
  • You should attach (or provide a link to) relevant documents e.g minutes of meetings.

Please provide as much detail as possible, using the guidance given above.
If you have any supporting evidence, such as documents, to accompany your complaint then please upload them here.

Selected files:

4. Keeping your identity confidential

Only complete this next section if you are requesting that your identity is kept confidential. Please see the notes in the accompanying leaflet "How to make a complaint".

5. Data Protection

Data Protection - Ashford Borough Council is the data controller for any personal information provided in this form. Your information will be used to process your complaint, and processing is being conducted relying upon a public interest legal basis. Unless you have explicitly indicated otherwise in the 'reason for your identity to be kept confidential' section of this form, your data may be shared with other departments within the council, with appropriate Borough, Town or Parish Councillors and with the Independent Person for the purpose of investigating your complaint. Your name and the substance of the complaint, but no other personal details, will be included within any decision notice issued at the end of the complaints process and this will be published on our webpages. By ticking this box you give consent to this use of your data. For more information please see the guidance notes ‘How to make a Code of Conduct complaint’ for more information about your data protection rights please see the Council’s data protection pages which can be found at www.ashford.gov.uk or contact the Data Protection Officer at, The Data Protection Officer, Ashford Borough Council, Civic Centre, Tannery Lane, Ashford TN23 1PL. Please tick the box to give consent of this use of your data.
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