COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

All feedback is welcome and will be acted on to help improve the services we provide.

If you’re unhappy with any aspect of work overseen by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, or about a decision, you can make a complaint.

What happens when you make a complaint?

On receipt, you will be contacted about your complaint and we will work with you to try to sort the problem out quickly and find a solution that you’re happy with.

If your complaint is about a subject that does not fall under the specific remit of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, we will assist with signposting you to the relevant organisation you need to contact.

Where we need to talk to other organisations about your complaint, such as the district councils, we'll always seek your consent to share your information with them.

If you’re complaining on behalf of somebody else, we may not be able to provide you with the details of any action we’ve taken. We may need to ask the person if they're happy for you to do this and for us to share their information with you.

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority complaints procedure has two stages:

Stage One – investigation

When we’ve received your complaint, we’ll contact you within three working days by telephone, email or letter. We’ll tell you how your complaint will be investigated and what happens next.

We will then:

• Talk to you about your complaint and find out what you want us to do about the problem
• Agree with you a timescale for dealing with it
• Allocate a person who is going to look into your complaint
• Write all of this down in a complaints resolution plan, for you to sign and keep a copy of
• Keep you updated on progress throughout your complaint
• Make sure that you get a full written response from the person who’s dealing with your complaint

Stage Two (complaint review)

If you’re not satisfied with how we’ve investigated your complaint, or with our response, you can ask us to look at it again. 

We’ll work with you to:

• Find out what you’re unhappy with and about anything you feel has not been addressed by the investigation
• Pass the information onto the Monitoring Officer for them to decide if the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority can do anything further to resolve your complaint.

A compilation of received complaints will be periodically reported to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

If you don’t feel your complaint has been sufficiently resolved

If you aren’t happy with how we’ve dealt with your complaint, you have the right to ask the Local Government Ombudsman to look into the matter for you.

Read more about what the Local Government Ombudsman will do and how to get in touch with them. 

If you wish to make a complaint to the Mayoral Combined Authority, please contact the Governance team at: 

Legal & Governance
11 Broad Street West,
Sheffield,
S1 2BQ
Email: Governance@southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk

Complaints relating to members of the Mayoral Combined Authority

If you wish to make a complaint about a member of the Mayoral Combined Authority, please contact the Monitoring Officer at:

Legal & Governance
11 Broad Street West,
Sheffield,
S1 2BQ
Email: Governance@southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk

Complaints relating to members will be processed as detailed in part 6A ‘Member’s Code of Conduct’ – Appendix A of the SYMCA Constitution. 

Complaints about the Chief Constable

SYMCA is responsible for recording and investigating complaints against the Chief Constable. In dealing with complaints about the Chief Constable, SYMCA will follow the statutory guidance issued by the IOPC and in line with the Police (Complaints and Conduct) Regulations 2012. All complaints must be in writing to the Monitoring Officer at the following address:

Monitoring Officer 
11 Broad Street West,
Sheffield,
S1 2BQ
Email: Governance@southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk

Complaints may also be made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct via their website www.iopc.gov.uk or by telephone on 0300 020 0096. In certain circumstances, the Mayor is required to refer matters to the IOPC.

Complaints about Police Officers and Staff

SYMCA does not hold responsibility for complaints against police officers or staff who work for South Yorkshire Police. Complaints of this nature must be sent to:

South Yorkshire Police Professional Standards Department
Unit 20
Sheffield 35A Business Park
Churchill Way
Sheffield
S35 2PY
Email: Complaints_and_Discipline@southyorks.pnn.police.uk
Or telephone South Yorkshire Police on 101

Complaint Reviews (Complaints about SY Police Officers and Staff)

SYMCA is the relevant review body for conducting independent reviews of police complaints (previously known as “appeals”), where the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) is not the relevant review body.

It is the responsibility of South Yorkshire Police (as the ‘Appropriate Authority’ for the handling of your complaint) to write to you and tell you where to submit your application for a review.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, and you have been informed by South Yorkshire Police that SYMCA is the relevant review body, you can write to us at: 

Policing & Reform 
11 Broad Street West,
Sheffield,
S1 2BQ
Email: policingandreform@southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk

Please be aware that the role of SYMCA is not to re-investigate your complaint, but to consider whether the outcome of South Yorkshire Police’s investigation of the handling of your complaint is reasonable and proportionate.

Please see our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ guide for further information on the Complaint Review process.