Email:
complaints@leeds.gov.uk
compliments@leeds.gov.uk
feedback@leeds.gov.uk
Complaints play a role in maintaining and improving standards and the quality of service provided. When we receive a complaint, we see this as a way of getting an important insight into how services are being delivered. By listening to you we can look at actions that can be taken to improve services and help your experience.
Current policy - April 2026
This policy details the way in which complaints will be managed, investigated and acted upon.
Aim of the compliments and complaints policy
We recognise the need to provide a first-class public service, which is responsive to your views and this is reflected in our values:
- working as a team for Leeds
- being open, honest and trusted
- working with communities
- treating people fairly
- spending money wisely
We are committed to making it easier for you to provide feedback to us, and use your feedback to improve our services. Through the Compliments and Complaints Policy, we will try to resolve your complaints speedily, effectively and fairly.
When dealing with complaints, it is our aim to work with you so we understand what your issues are and what you would like to happen to resolve it.
The tone of our contact will be open, responsive and avoid jargon. Our written correspondence will use plain English, and will be backed up with agreed positive action to resolve your complaint.
We are committed to treating all customers fairly and we take equality and diversity into account in a positive way. We will make sure that individual needs are taken into account when applying this policy and that any reasonable adjustments are made as required.
All customer feedback will be treated equally whether it is by:
Website: www.leeds.gov.uk/complaints
Phone: 0113 222 4405
Post: Freepost RLZR-ELTX-RUEH, Leeds City Council, PO Box 657, Leeds, LS1 9BS
Face to face through our Community Hubs.
Social media: Facebook or Twitter
Where complaints are received through Social Media, we will encourage a complainant to provide details through direct messages to maintain confidentiality. This may then include giving to customers a link to the online complaints reporting form so that all customers can describe the nature of their complaint and submit this to the customer relations team directly.
or any other form of communication.
Some council services are delivered by third parties. For example council tenants living in Belle Isle have their homes managed by Belle Isle Tenant Management Organisation (BITMO), and some council tenants live in an area where some of their services are delivered by a 'PFI' provider. Any complaints received from these residents will be managed in line with this policy, regardless of whether the complaint is received by the council or a third party.
council tenants in BITMO and PFI areas will receive acknowledgement of their complaint by Leeds City Council. Complaints will be investigated by the third party and formal response will be given by Leeds City Council.
To ensure that our policy remains relevant it is reviewed every 2 years.
What is a compliment
A compliment is an expression of satisfaction about the standard of service we provide. We are always glad to hear from people who are satisfied with the services we offer.
All compliments are recorded, and a copy is sent to the relevant service manager to provide feedback to the member of staff or service.
What is a complaint
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions, or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents. We can resolve most issues without the need for you to make a complaint. However, there may be cases that require further investigation and the involvement of other officers to find out what went wrong. We will deal with these as complaints as outlined in this policy
You do not have to use the word ‘complaint’ for it to be treated as such. Whenever dissatisfaction is expressed, we will give you the choice to make complaint. Complaints submitted via a third party or representative will be handled in line with this complaints policy
When complaints are received, we will not stop our efforts to deliver any open service requests.
What we cannot deal with under this policy
Not all complaints are be dealt with under this policy. The council provides a wide range of services and there may be more appropriate ways for some matters to be addressed (See Appendix 1)
If a formal appeal process exists, then this will be used to address your concerns. Appeals processes exist for several areas including school admissions, benefit claims and planning applications. Initial requests for service (Service requests) also sit outside of the complaints process. To ensure you are using the correct route for the issues you are raising, please see Appendix 1 for guidance on what we cannot deal with.
Stages of policy
Leeds City Council has a two-stage policy.
When a resident contacts the council, we will first consider whether the issue is a service request or a complaint. A service request is a request for action to put something right and will be recorded, monitored and reviewed separately as set out in Appendix 1.
Where a complaint meets the definition of a service request this will be confirmed by the service who will respond to this.
The council will aim to resolve complaints as early as possible, including at the point of contact where appropriate. However, this will take place within the formal complaints process and will not replace, delay or add any extra stage before Stage 1. If a complaint is resolved quickly, it will still be recorded as a Stage 1 complaint and the resident will receive a Stage 1 response, including information about their right to escalate if they remain dissatisfied.
If we cannot, your complaint will be dealt with in the following way:
Initial investigation (stage one)
This is the first formal stage and we will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five working days. Our acknowledgement will include:
- confirmation that your complaint has been received, our understanding of your complaint, expected outcomes and if possible, the name and contact details of the investigating officer, however this may not be possible in all cases
- details of any elements of your complaint which we are not responsible for (and further contact details where possible)
- a date or timeframe by which you can expect to receive a response.
Our policy is to respond in full to you within 10 working days of acknowledgement of your complaint, wherever possible.
If we cannot respond in full within the acknowledged timescale, we will provide you with an update. This will detail the reason for the delay and when you can expect to receive a response (which will be no more than 10 working days, without good reason).
If any further extensions are required, we will agree with you regular intervals to update you on the progress of your complaint. Such explanation will also include the contact details of the relevant Ombudsman. The investigating officer may need to ask you for further information to assist with their investigation.
Our response can be provided by letter, email, face to face or by telephone. Where a response is given by telephone or in person, we will provide a formal written response to your complaint.
As part of our response, we will also advise you how you can take your complaint to a further stage should you wish to do so. The response to your complaint will be provided when the outcome is known (rather than when any outstanding actions are completed). Any outstanding actions detailed in complaint responses will be tracked to completion with regular updates given to you.
Any additional complaints raised whilst a stage 1 investigation is ongoing will be considered on a case-by-case basis. This may mean a complaint is extended to address your new concerns as part of the response, or a new complaint may be registered. This will be informed by whether including the new issues would unreasonably delay the response to your complaint, if the issues are different or if these are received after the response to your stage 1 complaint.
Review (stage two)
If you remain dissatisfied following our initial investigation, you can ask for your
complaint to be looked at again by a senior officer.
We ask that that this is done within a reasonable timescale. We would expect a complaint to be escalated within a calendar month of a stage one response, however, this this can extended in exceptional circumstances.
When escalating a complaint, it is beneficial to be clear in your reasons for progressing your complaint and what your desired outcome is, but this is not essential.
We will appoint a senior officer to review your complaint. In exceptional circumstances, the investigating officer may be from another service if the council feel this is necessary. The complaint will be acknowledged within five working days and will:
- confirm that your complaint has been received, our understanding of your complaint, the outcomes you are seeking, any elements which the council is not responsible for and the name and contact details of the investigating officer (however this may not be possible in all cases)
- include date or timeframe by which you can expect to receive a response
In the review, we will look at how we dealt with your original complaint and we will also respond to any further related issues that you have raised with us (although not new complaints). Our policy is to respond in full to you within 20 working days of acknowledgement of your complaint, wherever possible.
If we cannot respond in full within the acknowledged timescale, we will provide you with an update. This will detail the reason for the delay and when you can expect to receive a response (which will be no more than 20 working days, without good reason).
If any further extensions are required, we will agree with you regular intervals to update you on the progress of your complaint. Such explanation will also include the contact details of the relevant Ombudsman.
Our response can be provided by letter, email, face to face or by telephone. Where a response is given by telephone or in person, we will provide written confirmation of our discussion. The response to your complaint will be provided when the outcome is known (rather than when any outstanding actions are completed). Any outstanding actions detailed in complaint responses will be tracked to completion with regular updates given to you.
Next steps
There is no further right of appeal to the council following completion of a review at stage two of this policy.
Within our final response, we will inform you of your right to take your complaint further if you remain dissatisfied. There are 2 ombudsman’s offices: Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Housing Ombudsman. Our response will contain the contact details for the appropriate ombudsman’s office.
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman look at individual complaints about councils, all adult social care providers (including care homes and home care agencies) and some other organisations providing public services.
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH
Phone: 0300 061 0614
Website: www.lgo.org.uk
Housing Ombudsman Service
The Housing Ombudsman Service look at complaints about housing organisations and looks to resolve disputes involving the tenants and leaseholders of social landlords. Residents and landlords can contact the Ombudsman at any time for support in helping to resolve a dispute
Housing Ombudsman Service
PO Box 1484
Unit D
Preston
PR2 0ET
Phone: 0300 111 3000
Website: Housing Ombudsman website
Types of complaint
Complaints of discrimination and harassment
The council has developed an approach for dealing with incidents of reported harassment or discrimination.
These issues will be dealt with sensitively, considering the nature of the issues raised when appointing an investigator. In cases of harassment we will consider the characteristics of the investigating officer, and if appropriate, discuss this with you before appointing an investigator.
Complaints received via elected members for the council or parliament
When we receive a complaint from you via an elected member we will direct our response to you.
Complaints received by the Chief Executive
Complaints received by the council’s Chief Executive will be passed to customer relations who will ensure that you are responded to.
Complaints relating to more than one council service
Where a complaint includes issues for more than one part of the council, the investigation will be led by the person who has responsibility for the major part of the complaint. We will aim to provide you with a single response whenever possible.
Complaints against members of staff
If you have an issue about a member of staff (this includes people who volunteer on our behalf), we will investigate and take appropriate action, in accordance with our policies.
If during our investigation we find that staff have acted in a way that requires disciplinary action, our internal policies will apply. Due to data protection it will not be possible for us to share the outcome of any management actions.
Anonymous complaints
Anonymous complaints will be investigated as far as possible, and a record of the complaint kept.
Reasonable adjustments
We are committed to understanding the impact of a complaint on a customer, taking their individual circumstances into account. To assist in this, where reasonable adjustments are required concerning how complaints are made, considered, or responded to, we aim to accommodate requests where possible. We encourage in the first instance to discuss any reasonable adjustments with the Customer Relations team.
Complaints can be made on your behalf by someone else. If we have your permission to share information with them we will respond directly to them.
Customer relations team
Phone: 0113 222 4405
Email: csu.customer.relations@leeds.gov.uk
Contact the customer relations team if you need a copy of this policy in another format or language.
Dealing with unreasonable complainants' behaviour
There are a small number of customers whose behaviour we feel is unreasonable in pursuing the resolution of their complaint. A separate policy exists to deal with these instances and explains our approach. A copy of this is at Appendix 2
Review
This policy will be reviewed in April 2028 by the Director of Communities, Housing and Environment.
This policy is made available online (a paper copy can be sent on request) along with more information on our latest self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman and Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman complaint handling codes.
As part of the Housing Ombudsman Service complaint handling code requirements, Housing Leeds will promote this policy, the Housing Ombudsman complaint handling code and how to contact the Housing Ombudsman Service through regular customer communications.
Appendix 1
What we cannot deal with under this policy
Requests for service or information (service requests)
Service requests are defined as "a request that the organisation provides or improves a service, fixes a problem or reconsiders a decision".
As an example, if you request a repair to a council property or let us know that a streetlight is not working – these are alerting us to work that needs to be done. These requests may however become a complaint if we do not deal with them appropriately, as referenced in the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman's complaint handling code:
- Service requests are not complaints but may contain expressions of dissatisfaction. Organisations should have the opportunity to deal with a service request before a complaint is made. A complaint may be raised when the individual expresses dissatisfaction with the response to their service request, even if the handling of the service request remains ongoing.
Appeals procedures
If an appeals procedure applies to your complaint, we will refer you to this, and notify you of our actions at the outset.
Appeals procedures must be completed before we can investigate any other issues you raise with us. If this is the case, we will let you know.
The following are examples of complaints where there is an appeals process and so we will not deal with them under this policy:
- issuing of penalty charges, for example parking tickets and the recovery process
- a decision on a planning application
- a community care charge assessment
- a re-housing decision
- an eviction decision
- an offer of council accommodation
- entitlement to housing benefit or universal credit
- a decision to exclude a child from a school
- complaints about decisions that have a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal, nor complaints about the processes leading to those decisions
- pensions matters
- appeal against the outcome of an assessment under the Department for Transport ‘Eligible subject to further assessment’ criteria regarding the issue of a blue badge
- a decision about council tax support
- a ban from or restriction on entering council premises
- a decision about a school a child should attend. Following the outcome of a school appeal complaint by an appeals panel, complaints about the process should be sent directly to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. The ombudsman is independent of Leeds City Council and has the authority to investigate these types of complaints on your behalf
They can be contacted as follows:
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH
Website: www.lgo.org.uk/
Phone: 0300 061 0614
Existing right of objection
This is where there is a more appropriate individual or organisation to deal with your complaint such as a tribunal, ombudsman or court.
Complaints regarding issues that occurred over 12 months ago
We would not normally investigate complaints about something that happened (or you became aware of) more than a year ago unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Complaints about councillors or MPs
For councillors contact:
For MPs contact:
Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Phone: 020 7219 1883
Allegations of fraud, theft or corruption by a member of our staff
We are committed to being open and accountable for our staff. If you have serious concerns about our staff, please come forward and let us know. All concerns will be treated in the strictest of confidence. Please write to:
Internal Audit
Leeds City Council
3rd Floor West
Civic Hall
Leeds
LS1 1GF
Email: concerns@leeds.gov.uk
Phone: 0113 378 8008
Complaints about your child’s education
Please contact your child’s school direct. You may also contact the Schools Complaint Unit at the Department of Education for advice online.
Complaints about an academy should be addressed directly with the academy or you can contact the Education and Skills Funding Agency for advice.
Where legal proceedings are involved
When a legal challenge is being made regarding whether a decision, action (or lack of action) is lawful. This is a separate process to the ombudsman so will not be considered under the complaint policy.
Employment Issues
Complaints made by employees concerning their employment will be referred to Human Resources to be considered in line with internal HR procedures.
Complaints made by job applicants who wish to complain about the recruitment and selection process will be dealt with by the relevant recruitment manager.
Complaints about social care services
There are two acts of parliament that require local authority social care services to have a procedure for considering representations (including complaints) by an individual or anyone acting on their behalf in relation to the discharge of, or any failure to discharge, any of their social services functions.
The two acts are:
- The Children Act 1989 Representations Procedure (England) Regulations 2006
- The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England)Regulations 2009
Complaints about either adult or children’s social care issues are dealt with under separate statutory timescales and are outside of this policy.
For complaints regarding children’s services:
Email: complaints.children@leeds.gov.uk
Phone: 0113 378 5111
Address: Customer Relations
PO BOX 837
Leeds
LS1 9PZ
For complaints regarding adult social care services:
Email: complaints.socs@leeds.gov.uk
Phone: 0113 222 4405
Address: The Complaints Manager
Leeds City Council
Adults and Health
PO BOX 848
Leeds
LS1 9PQ
Complaints about Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests
Complaints will be dealt with as an internal review and should be made within 40 working days of the initial response and these will be handled by a senior officer. In cases where we decide not to provide all or some of the information held, the officer must consider advice from the council’s Information Management and Governance service. The officer will notify you of the outcome of our investigation within 20 working days of receipt of your request for an internal review.
If we cannot respond in full within this timeframe, we will advise you why we need more time. Under FOIA legislation, we must ensure that we respond fully to you within 40 working days from receipt of your request for an internal review.
There is no further right of appeal to the council following this investigation. Within our response we will inform you of your right to take your complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you remain dissatisfied. Our response will contain the contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Complaints about Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) requests
Under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, you can ask us to reconsider an information request. You can make representations to us in writing about this no later than 40 working days after the date you think we have failed to comply with the EIR.
These requests will be handled by a senior officer who will consider your representations and any supporting evidence produced by you and decide if we have complied with the EIR requirements.
The officer must consider advice from the council’s Information Management and Governance service. The officer will notify you of the outcome of our investigation as soon as possible, and no later than 40 working days after receipt of your complaint.
There is no further right of appeal to the council following this investigation. Within our response we will inform you of your right to take your complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you remain dissatisfied. Our response will contain the contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Complaints about Individual Rights Requests (including subject access requests)
In relation to individual rights’ requests under the UK GDPR, the council has 1 month in which to respond although this can be extended by a further 2 months if the request is complex, or we have received a number of requests from the requester.
Whilst there is no statutory requirement for the council to investigate complaints about how we have responded to a request, we are committed to trying to resolve all such complaints. Any such complaints will be handled by a senior officer as an internal review. The officer will notify you of the outcome of our investigation within 20 working days of receipt of your request for an internal review. If we cannot respond in full within this timeframe, we will advise you why we need more time.
There is no further right of appeal to the council following this investigation. Within our response we will inform you of your right to take your complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you remain dissatisfied. Our response will contain the contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Data Protection Complaints under the UK GDPR/Data Protection Act 2018
Complaints about how the council has processed your personal data will be handled in accordance with the council’s two stage policy (stage 1 and 2) and advice must be sought from the council’s Information Management and Governance service.
There is no further right of appeal to the council following our stage 2 response. Within our stage 2 response we will inform you of your right to take your complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you remain dissatisfied. Our response will contain the contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Complaints about companies or traders that provide goods or services
For complaints about companies or traders that provide goods and/or services, these are handled by Trading Standards, who are part of the West Yorkshire Joint Services. They can be contacted by using the details below.
Website: West Yorkshire Trading Standards
Phone: 0113 535 0000
Email: dutyofficer@wjs.org.uk
Appendix 2
Policy to deal with unreasonable complainants’ behaviour
We treat all complaints seriously and are committed to resolving complaints fairly. In most cases we can work with complainants to find a mutually acceptable resolution. Occasionally, when communication with a complainant becomes a problem, we may need to take appropriate action.
This policy sets out how we will deal with cases where the actions of individuals become unacceptable because we deem them to involve the abuse of staff or of the complaint process. This policy is applied when a customer has made a formal complaint. Where customer contact is outside of the complaints policy, alternative policies can apply.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman defines unreasonable behaviour as:
- Complainants who, because of the nature or frequency of their contact with an organisation, hinder the organisation’s consideration of their or other people’s complaints
If we believe your behaviour in pursuit of your complaint is unreasonable, we will inform you why we believe this to be the case and the problems it is causing. We will also set out what we propose for communication with you going forward.
Examples of unreasonable behaviour include:
- aggressive or abusive language
- making excessive demands for information, documents or requesting actions outside the complaint procedure
- refusing to co-operate with the procedure
- sending large volumes of correspondence or an excessive number of contacts
How we will inform you
We will write to you and inform you why we find your behaviour to be unreasonable.
Where you have an ongoing complaint:
- we will provide update on the status of your complaint and timescale for response
- we will outline how it is reasonable for you to make contact whilst your complaint is being investigated and the reasons for this
- we may limit the amount of contact we will consider in relation to your complaint
Where your complaint has exhausted the Council’s complaints policy:
- we confirm that your complaint had completed the Council’s complaint policy and will direct you to appropriate routes of escalation
If unreasonable behaviour persists after the above steps are followed, this will lead to a restriction being placed on your contact with the Council.
Details of the restriction will be confirmed in writing and will set a review period for the restriction.
If you disagree with restrictions, we will consider your objections and review whether the restriction has been appropriately applied. If you disagree with the outcome of this review you can ask the Local Government Ombudsman and Social Care Ombudsman to consider whether our decision is reasonable.
You can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman at:
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH
Phone: 0300 061 0614
Website: www.lgo.org.uk
