Complaining about councillors and devolved public bodies

This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales

If you want to complain about the conduct of a councillor or a board member of a devolved public body, you can complain to the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

When you can complain

You can complain if you think there's been:

financial misconduct
a breach of confidentiality
inappropriate acceptance of gifts or hospitality
any other breach of a code of conduct.

The Ethical Standards Commissioner can consider a complaint about:

a board member of a devolved public body who you think has broken the relevant code of conduct
a councillor who you think has broken the relevant code of conduct
the way a public appointment has been made to the board of a public body.

The Ethical Standards Commissioner can also consider some complaints about a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP). Find out more about complaining about the conduct of an MSP.

Complaining about a board member of a devolved public body

You can find a list of public bodies whose board members you can complain about on the Standards Commission website.

The public bodies include:

a wide range of national public bodies - like Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland, the Crofting Commission, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, and national park authorities
further education colleges
NHS boards
health and social care integration joint boards
regional transport partnerships.

How to complain about a board member of a devolved public body

How you complain depends on what you're complaining about.

If your complaint is about a breach of a code of conduct by a board member of a public body

You should complain to the Ethical Standards Commissioner. You can download a complaint form or upload a complaint on the Ethical Standards Commissioner website.

What to include in your complaint

Your complaint should include:

who you're complaining about
the public body they serve on
what you are complaining about - include the date of the misconduct and any witnesses
any evidence you have to support your complaint
your contact details - name, address, telephone number and email address
which part of the code of conduct has been breached - if you know this.

Most public bodies publish their code of conduct on their website.

You can find a Model Code of Conduct for Members of Devolved Public Bodies on the Scottish Government website.

If your complaint is about the public appointments process

If you want to complain about the process of appointing someone to a public body, you must first complain to the Scottish government before you can complain to the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

You can find how to complain about the public appointments process on the Scottish government's website.

If you're unhappy with a decision made by a public body

If you want to complain about how a decision was made, you should use the complaints procedure for the body that you want to complain about. This usually involves using an internal complaints process, and complaining to an ombudsman if you're not satisfied with the response.

If you think a public body has made the wrong decision, you should check if it has a formal route to challenge the decision. If it does not, you might need to request a judicial review. You should get legal advice if you plan to seek a judicial review.

Find out more about getting legal advice.

How to complain about a councillor

How you complain about a councillor depends on what you are complaining about.

If your complaint is about a breach of a code of conduct by a councillor

You should complain to the Ethical Standards Commissioner. You can download a complaint form or upload a complaint on the Ethical Standards Commissioner website.

What to include in your complaint

Your complaint should include:

who you're complaining about
the council they're a member of
what you're complaining about - include the date of the misconduct and any witnesses
any evidence you have to support your complaint
your contact details - name, address, telephone number and email address
which part of the code of conduct has been breached - if you know this.

You can find the Code of Conduct for Councillors on the Scottish government website.

If your complaint is about a local council

If you want to complain about a local council, you should first follow the council’s complaints procedure. If your complaint is not resolved, you can complain to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

You can find more information about how to complain about a local council on the Scottish government website.

If you're unhappy with a decision made by a local council

If you want to complain about how a decision was made, you should first follow the council’s complaint procedure. If your complaint is not resolved, you can complain to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

You can find more information about how to complain about a local council on the Scottish government website.

If you think a local council has made a wrong decision, you should check if it has a formal route to challenge the decision. If it does not, you might need to request a judicial review. You should get legal advice if you plan to seek a judicial review.

Find out more about getting legal advice.

How the Ethical Standards Commissioner deals with complaints

The Ethical Standards Commissioner will first decide if they can consider your complaint. If they can, they might ask you to provide further evidence.

Find out how your complaint will be dealt with on the Ethical Standards Commissioner website.

If the Ethical Standards Commissioner think there has been a breach of the relevant code of conduct, they refer the case to the Standards Commission for Scotland. The Standards Commission decides whether the code has been breached or not. They can hold a hearing to decide this.

If the code has been breached, the Standards Commission decides what should happen to the person you complained about.

You can find out more about the role of the Standards Commission on their website.

Complaints about the Ethical Standards Commissioner

You can complain about how the Ethical Standards Commissioner has dealt with your complaint. There's information about how to make a complaint and how complaints are dealt with on the Ethical Standards Commissioner website.