Professional conduct FAQs

Every corporate member, as well as Technical Members, Associate Members, Legal Associates and Licentiates are required to abide by the RTPI Code of Professional Conduct. The Code sets out the required standards of behaviour expected of its members in terms of their ethics, professional behaviour and reputation. If you consider that an individual member is personally responsible for conduct amounting to a breach of the Code then you should consider making a complaint to the Institute. However the following Q&As should also influence what you decide to do.

The Institute will not use its disciplinary procedures to review the decisions of local planning authorities or to investigate allegations of poor administration on the part of local planning authorities or other organisations. The Institute will not normally investigate complaints that are more appropriately dealt with through the courts, an Employment Tribunal, the Local Government Ombudsman or other tribunal. The Institute will not normally investigate a complaint relating to the conduct of a member which is alleged to have occurred more than two years prior to the date of the complaint.

The Institute will not initiate its own investigation into any matter until after the conclusion of any relevant and on-going proceedings e.g. until after the local authority's complaint process has been exhausted and / or the Local Government Ombudsman investigation has concluded, or other relevant court proceedings. The reasons for this are that:

1. a remedy may be reasonably available to the complainant under those other proceedings,
   
2. the outcome of those proceedings may be relevant to the complaint and would therefore form part of the evidence to be considered by the Institute
   
3. so as not to prejudice the outcome of any other proceedings
   and given that
   
4. the RTPI disciplinary procedures should not be regarded as a means of extracting evidence for use in formal proceedings.

Your first step should always be to attempt to resolve the complaint directly with the member concerned. For example, an explanation may resolve the issue. Complaints against members employed by a local authority should in the next instance be made to that organisation. Complaints against Inspectors dealing with planning appeals should be made to the Inspectorate.

Once you have exhausted the complaint process of the relevant local authority / firm concerned, and you remain dissatisfied, you should complete the RTPI complaint form and send this to the Institute's Complaints Investigator with any relevant documentation in support of the complaint.

Yes. You are required to sign a declaration on the complaints form consenting to the form and correspondence / documentation submitted being copied to the member concerned.

The Institute has Complaints Procedures that must be followed when investigating complaints against its members, and for taking disciplinary action. The Complaints Investigator will gather the necessary information from both parties and present it to the Conduct and Discipline Panel. The Panel will consider whether there is evidence of a breach of the Code. If there is evidence which suggests this, then an investigation will be commenced. The Panel meets four times a year and will determine complaints based upon the written responses and documentation received from both parties and obtained by the Complaints Investigator. The complainant and member would not normally attend the Panel meeting.

The Panel numbers between 6 and 8 people. This group is comprised of RTPI members (including at least one legal member), and experienced lay people. See full details.

In order to examine the matter fully, the Panel will want to see copies of all the relevant documents relating to the issue(s). This may include copies of the planning application, decision, committee report or any correspondence. The Panel will also want to see documents relating to any other complaints made, perhaps to the local authority or Local Government Ombudsman or other tribunal.

Your complaint will be acknowledged within 7 – 14 days. If a decision is made to undertake a formal investigation into your complaint then it will be sent to the member concerned for a formal response. Each party will have an opportunity to comment on the other party's submission and provide further material as relevant.

No, all correspondence and documentation submitted by either party is treated as private and confidential and is solely for the use and purpose of the complaint investigation and is not to be disclosed to any other party.

The procedure will take approximately 6 months to reach a conclusion. More complex cases could take longer.

You will be notified of all decisions made regarding the complaint, including whether the Panel intends to investigate the matter and whether a breach of the Code has been found.

If the Panel finds that a member has breached the Code it can issue a warning, a reprimand, or suspend or terminate membership. The level of disciplinary action will depend on the severity of the breach of the Code. The Panel will also decide whether to name a member in any published article which advertises the outcome.

The Institute is not able to provide any financial compensation for the actions of its members even if a breach of the Code has been found.

The RTPI takes its function of upholding the Code and investigating alleged breaches of the Code by its members very seriously. The Institute has given authority to the Panel to investigate all complaints against its members, and therefore there is no additional opportunity to seek further redress through the Institute. Where the Panel has agreed that a breach of the Code has been found and a decision is made to discipline a member, a right of appeal exists for the member in question.