Corporate Protocol for Members' Enquiries
1. The aim of this protocol is to ensure that Members receive prompt and accurate replies to requests for information. This updated version of the original protocol written in 2002, reviews progress made following the roll out across the Council of the contact database, Respond.
2. Members are requested to send all written enquiries directly to the Office of the Chief Executive, Assistant Chief Executive, or Director of the relevant service area. Alternatively, Members’ Support will originate the enquiry when requested by Members and forward to the relevant department (see paragraph 8 below).
3. Upon receipt of a written Members’ Enquiry, the Director’s Office will log the correspondence on Respond, acknowledge receipt of the Enquiry and forward to the officer tasked with preparing the response. Responses to Members’ Enquiries should be seen by a manager of appropriate seniority, i.e. Team Leader, Head of Service, Assistant Director, or Director, to ensure accuracy of information and to carry out a quality check. However, the final response should be signed by a Chief Officer, ie Director or Assistant Director of Service.
- Officers logging Enquiries will check whether the matter is already being investigated under the Council’s Complaints procedure in order to avoid two separate investigations and responses. If the Member’s Enquiry is already going through the Complaints Procedure, the acknowledgement will inform the Member that the complaint is under investigation, what stage it has reached, who is dealing with it and when a response can be expected and that the Member will be copied into this response. Any additional points made by the Member on the complainant’s behalf should also receive consideration.
- If a Member makes an enquiry on behalf of a constituent where the complaint has not gone through the Complaints procedure, it will be treated as a new Member’s Enquiry.
- If a Member, or their constituent, remains dissatisfied after receiving this response, he/she should contact the Standards and Complaints Team who will determine how the matter will be progressed further. If, as is required, the Member’s Enquiry has been signed off by the Director of Service, it is assumed that a decision has been taken at the highest level and the complaint will then be investigated outside of the service area, ie by the Standards and Complaints team at stage 3 of the Council’s Complaints Procedure.
- All responses to Members Enquiries should therefore include a standard paragraph referring the Member to the Head of Standards and Complaints should they remain dissatisfied with the response they have received.
4. The Corporate target for responding to a Member’s Enquiry is ten working days. Directorates can set a shorter timeframe if they wish. However, if it is anticipated that more than 10 days is required to provide a full response, an explanation should be given as to why more time is needed and the Member kept informed of progress at regular intervals. (See “Standard of Response” below).
5. The officer tasked with responding should provide a draft, which has been checked for accuracy and quality by a senior manager, to the Director’s Office for despatch in the Directors name. The response must be copied to all those who were circulated the original Enquiry.
6. Officers tasked with responding to Enquiries are encouraged to make early telephone contact with the Member, where it would expedite or clarify matters.
7. If Members wish to chase outstanding responses they should contact the relevant Directors’ office, Members Support, or the Standards and Complaints Team who will all have recorded information regarding the enquiry, via Respond.
8. To assist in speeding up response times, the Members Support section of Customer & Corporate Services will input all Members Enquiries prepared by their office, directly into Respond and these will automatically be forwarded to the office of the appropriate Director.
9. The Office of the Director is responsible for monitoring performance, both in terms of meeting the response time-scale and the quality of response.
10. The Standards and Complaints Team produce monthly reports on each Directorate’s performance.
Page updated: 28 Feb 2007