How to appeal a decision to restrict contact
If restrictions are placed on a customer, then they have the right to appeal this decision. They will be provided with the contact details in which to appeal and this should be done within 20 working days. If they do this, we will only consider arguments that relate to the restriction and not to the actual complaint or issue.
Customers will be required to tell us why they wish to appeal against the decision. Grounds for an appeal could include, for example, a customer telling us that:
- their actions were wrongly identified as unacceptable
- restrictions were disproportionate
- restrictions will have a negative impact on them because of personal circumstances
The relevant Director will consider the appeal. They are responsible for considering any appeal over a decision to restrict contact. Neither the customer nor the Council service imposing the restrictions will be expected to attend the appeal.
The Director will have the discretion to overturn or change the restrictions on the basis of what they think is fair and reasonable.
If the customer remains unhappy with the decision made by the Director they will be signposted to the SPSO. The SPSO’s role is to ensure the Council followed the correct process when implementing this policy. This is the final stage in the appeals process.