Comments and complaints

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction by any one or more members of the public about our actions or lack of action or about the standard of service. This applies whether the action was taken or the service was provided by the New Forest National Park Authority itself or a person or body acting on our behalf.

Our complaints procedure is not a review or an appeal procedure for you to challenge the merits of decisions. Neither is it a way to ask for a review of a decision which goes against you.

Your comments and suggestions let us know if we have gone wrong, or can improve our service. They also help us to monitor any improvements we make.

It assists us to deal with your complaints or comments if you contact us within four weeks of the relevant incident, if possible.

What if I have an objection to a decision we have made?

Objections to the merits of decisions that we have made, including those on planning matters, will not be dealt with under the complaints procedure described. However, if you feel that the procedure or process followed in reaching a decision was incorrect or unfair you may wish to lodge a complaint on this basis.

We operate a two stage complaints procedure to ensure complaints are dealt with impartially, objectively and professionally.

Stage One: Formal Complaint

Please submit your complaint in writing and send it  to the address below or you can use the online contact form. Please set out your complaint as fully and clearly as possible, including the name of the relevant member of staff and the date of the incident you are complaining about, if known. You can ask someone to help you.

All formal complaints should be made to:

The Information and Data Protection Officer

New Forest National Park Authority
Lymington Town Hall
Avenue Road
Lymington
SO41 9ZG

Email: feedback@newforestnpa.gov.uk

Complaint form

We will log and acknowledge a complaint within five working days of receipt. It will be referred to a senior officer or the manager of the relevant team for investigation. We will respond within 15 working days of the complaint being received.

Stage Two: Referral to Chief Executive

If on receipt of the Stage 1 response, all or part of the complaint is not resolved to the individual’s satisfaction, they may ask for it to be reviewed by our Chief Executive at Stage two. The Stage two request will be logged and acknowledged within five working days of receipt.

We will issue a response within 25 working days of the Stage two request being received. If a matter is complex, or there is a good reason why we can’t meet the expected timescale, then we may extend the response deadline by up to a further 20 working days.

Who will see my complaint?

All comments and complaints are treated in confidence and will not disadvantage you in any future dealings you might have with the New Forest National Park Authority.

However, it may not always be possible to keep your details confidential, such as where allegations are made concerning the conduct of third parties, or where particular legislation applies to your complaint.

We always want to improve our service and resolve problems as quickly as possible.

If your complaint is upheld:

• You will receive a written apology; and
• An explanation of any redress and any steps taken to prevent a similar problem recurring.

If your complaint is not upheld, the officer who conducted the investigation will write to you explaining the reasoning behind the decision.

This step concludes our complaints procedure.

If you wish simply to request an explanation for an action we have taken, or to comment on the service you have received from us, you can contact us in the ways set out below.

Call us on 01590 646600 and request to be put through to the relevant service, or write to:

New Forest National Park Authority
Lymington Town Hall
Avenue Road
Lymington
SO41 9ZG

Email: feedback@newforestnpa.gov.uk

Most of the time, we hope your complaint will be resolved to your satisfaction. If that is not the case, you may refer your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (the Ombudsman).

The Ombudsman investigates complaints of maladministration. Maladministration means that we have done something we should not have done, done something the wrong way or failed to do something we should have done.

You may contact the Ombudsman at any time, but the Ombudsman recommends that you use our own complaints procedure first.

You can contact the Ombudsman at:

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH

Telephone: 0300 061 0614
Contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

We aim to deal fairly, honestly and properly with complainants and to recognise their rights under the Human Rights Act 1998. We are committed to dealing with all complaints equitably, consistently, comprehensively, and in a timely manner, in accordance with the Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code.

However, we also need to ensure that other service users and our officers do not suffer any detriment or delay as a result of a person making unacceptable, unreasonably persistent or vexatious complaints or behaving in a threatening or demanding way.

Information on how we define an unreasonable request and our process for dealing with them is contained in Annex 2 of the Complaints Process.