Unreasonable actions by representatives
Some people find it helpful to have someone else such as a family member, friend, carer, advice agency or advocacy worker to help them with their complaint. They may also ask them to represent or accompany them at any meetings with the Council or with Councillors
While we need to ensure that a representative has consent or other lawful basis for acting on another customer’s behalf, we will not place restrictions on representatives unless there are good reasons for doing so. For example, if a person wants to attend a meeting with a friend or family member for support, we will not prevent that person from speaking in the meeting without good reason.
In a small number of cases, some representatives may act in a way that is unreasonable. This can cause difficulties for the Council and the individual they are representing. In such cases, this policy will also apply to managing unreasonable actions by representatives where appropriate.
When applying this policy to a representative we will need to ensure that the individual they are representing is not disadvantaged by this. We may therefore:
- offer to deal with the individual directly, taking account of any reasonable adjustments required or requested under the Equality Act 2010
- offer to support the individual to find another representative (e.g. an advocacy service)
- ask the individual to nominate another representative
