COUNCILLORS and senior council officials are taking to the road in a ground-breaking examination of City of York Council's complaints procedures.

The idea has come as a result of the council's newly-modernised decision-making structure which gives "backbench" councillors a scrutiny role in examining decisions and the way the council works.

It was the scrutiny committee which decided that the council's complaints procedures should be put under the spotlight.

Rosalind Gray, the council's new scrutiny manager, said: "We are arranging a number of public consultations in order to gain feedback from our customers on how City of York Council handles complaints and what their experiences have been when complaining to us.

"We will be asking if the process was easy to understand, if timescales were acceptable, if staff were helpful and whether our customers were happy with the outcome of any complaints.

"People are entitled to complain to the council if they feel we have not done something properly, but here it is not the details or the outcome of the complaint we will be concerned with, but rather the process and whether that could be improved for customers' benefit."

Consultations will be held by councillors and council officers in the authority's mobile information unit with a timetable as follows:

Saturday, November 11, between 10am and 4pm, in St Sampson's Square

Saturday, November 18, between 10am and 4pm, in Acomb's main shopping area

Saturday, November 23, between 4pm and 7pm, at Monks Cross Car Park

Saturday, November 30, between 4pm and 7pm, at Tesco, Askham Bar.