Complaints policy

We encourage customers in the first instance to raise any problems with the individual staff member concerned or with their line manager.

If the relevant staff member or their line manager is unable to resolve the issues, the customer should contact our customer relations team who deal with all Council complaints. Before any complaint is progressed to the formal stage, we will contact the customer to determine how we may put this right for them. If this is easily achievable, without the need for an investigation, the customer relations adviser will try and action this as soon as possible, with agreement from the customer.

For all stage 1 complaints we will appoint a customer relations advisor from the customer relations team as a point of contact (POC) for the customer.

The customer relations advisor POC will:

• attempt early resolution of the issue with the complainant before progressing to a formal stage 1
• where early resolution is not possible they will present the complaint to the relevant senior manager for review or investigation
• where an investigation has been completed contact the customer to advise of the outcome
• be responsible for keeping the complainant up to date including if there are any delays in responding

Our complaints manager will oversee all stage 2 and stage 3 complaints. They will be the customer’s appointed point of contact (POC).

The complaints manager will:

• review the customer's request for escalation of their complaint
• attempt early resolution of the issue with the complainant before agreement to progressing to the next formal stage
• where early resolution has not been possible, conduct a case review of the original complaint and the response provided to determine if any areas have not been satisfactorily addressed or require a further investigation
• determine if any new issues have been included within the complaint as these cannot progress to the next stage without having received due consideration at stage 1. These may be returned to the first stage of the process
• should the case review find that a further investigation is required, based on the information provided by the customer, this will be allocated to a relevant senior manager within the service area. This allocation is confirmation that a stage 2 investigation should proceed
• where an investigation has been completed, contact the customer to advise of the outcome
• be responsible for keeping the complainant up to date, including if there are any delays in responding
• final decisions made during this process will be in conjunction with relevant professionals in the service area

Corporate complaints

For complaints which do not have to be dealt with through a statutory process (see below) we have a two-stage process:

Stage 1 (local resolution) 

We will provide a point of contact (POC) within the customer relations team for the customer.  The POC will ensure a response is provided within 15 working days.

Stage 2 (management escalation)

If the customer is not satisfied with the stage 1 response, they can ask for the complaint to be referred to the complaints manager to consider whether further investigation is required. Once this request is accepted and the points for further investigation confirmed they will respond within 25 working days.

The complainant must:

• provide a detailed explanation of why and how the initial response failed to fully address their concerns
• provide evidence of what element(s) of the complaint have not been answered
• raise their concerns within 28 days of the response from the initial stage

Statutory complaints (social care services)

A different approach is required for complaints within social care services because the people who use them may be more vulnerable and the issues more complex. The Government has told us how we should deal with these complaints, making the process statutory. The customer relations team should initially be contacted for advice, guidance and support where we will attempt to resolve the issue informally.

Children's services

The statutory process for this service is as follows:

Stage 1 (local resolution)

We will provide a point of contact (POC) within the customer relations team for the customer and, or their advocate.  The POC will ensure a response is provided within 10 working days.

Stage 2 (independent investigator)

If the customer or their advocate is not satisfied with the stage 1 response they can request an independent investigation of their complaint.

The complainant must:

• contact the complaints manager to discuss their concerns
• provide a detailed explanation of why and how the initial response failed to fully address their concerns
• evidence what element(s) of the complaint have not been answered

Where the escalation to stage 2 is deemed appropriate, the complaints manager will arrange to appoint an independent investigator and independent person to investigate the complaint and report their findings. This report will be presented to the relevant children's services assistant director. A full response will be provided to the customer within 25 working days. In complex cases, this can be extended by up to 65 working days.

Stage 3 (independent panel)

Should the customer or their advocate continue to feel that their concerns have not been fully addressed, they can request an independent panel to review the complaint. This request must be made within 20 working days of the stage 2 response.

The complainant must contact the complaints manager before progressing to a stage 3.

The panel will include the complaints manager and three independent people.  It will take place no later than 30 working days after the complaint is agreed to move to a stage 3. They will undertake a review and make recommendations in a report to the director of children's services within 5 working days of the panel being held. The director will write with a final decision which will be sent to the customer within 15 working days.

Adult services

The statutory process for this service is as follows:

Stage 1 (local resolution)

We will provide a point of contact (POC) within the customer relations team for the customer.  They will ensure a response is provided within 10 working days.

Stage 2 (management escalation)

If the customer is not satisfied with the stage 1 response they can ask for the complaint to be referred to the complaints manager to consider whether further investigation is required. Once this request is accepted and the points for further investigation confirmed a response will be provided within 20 working days.

The complainant must:

• provide a detailed explanation of why and how the initial response failed to fully address their concerns
• evidence what element(s) of the complaint have not been answered
• raise their concerns within 28 days of the response from the initial stage

Returned escalation requests

There may be some instances where a complaint will not receive further investigation. The reasons may be as follows:

• the customer has not provided their reasons for ongoing dissatisfaction with the stage 1 response
• where all points have been addressed, we feel a further investigation will not result in a different outcome
• where we have admitted fault in the stage 1 response
• where we have been unable to reach an agreement with the customer around the points which require further investigation
• where we have advised that the original investigation determined that another course of action supersedes or is more appropriate for the concerns raised
• if the customer has entered any of the appeals processes in between their stage 1 response and request for escalation. Appeals processes supersede the complaints process. (A customer may return to us once an appeal is complete for further advice)

Where any of the above happens the customer may contact us further if they believe their complaint should be given further consideration. They should provide detailed reasons for this.

Referral to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

If the customer has exhausted the above relevant stages of the complaints procedure but consider their problems have still not been addressed, or they have not received a response within a reasonable time (which may be longer for statutory complaints), they can escalate their complaint to the Local Government and  Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) for independent review.

The LGSCO is the final stage for complaints about our services.  It investigates complaints fairly and independently.

The Ombudsman will contact us to collect information on how we have handled the complaint before they decide the form of a recommendation. We are not legally bound to follow any recommendations set out by the Ombudsman, although will consider if it is appropriate to do so.

Parish and Town Councils

Parish and Town Councils dissatisfied with services we provide to their constituents should consider first raising these matters with the relevant County Councillor. Failing this, complaints and concerns should be raised as normal via this policy, and the same process will be applied.

Advocacy

In some instances customers may prefer a relative or friend to act as an advocate on their behalf. In these situations we require written confirmation from the customer that:

• they have selected the individual to act as their advocate 
• they are happy for us to provide information to them

For those in receipt of social care services we have made arrangements for independent advocacy services to be available to children, young people and adults who meet certain eligibility criteria:

• to enable them to express their concerns and, or complaints about social care services 
• may include helping them to write their complaint 
• may include accompanying them to meetings with the managers dealing with their complaints

The advocate can also help in considering whether our response is satisfactory.

Total Voice is the advocacy body we have commissioned to provide advocacy advice and support. More information can be found on this service at Total Voice or by calling 01522 706580. Customers can also contact the complaints manager.

Anonymous complaints

We will record anonymous complaints and refer them to the appropriate service manager to decide whether the matters raised require further investigation.

Unreasonable behaviour or vexatious complaints

This is included in the policy to ensure we deal appropriately with those customers who we deem to be 'persistent or vexatious complainants' whilst ensuring that other customers or our staff are not adversely affected.

A complaint could be considered unreasonable or vexatious where the complainant meets one or more of the following:

• persists in pursuing a complaint where the complaints policy has been fully and properly implemented and exhausted
• submits repeated and unacceptably  high numbers or abusive communications in connection with the same complaint or with minor additions or variations
• has, while addressing a registered complaint, made excessive demands on the time and resources of staff.
• refuses to accept a decision made on a complaint, repeatedly arguing points with no new evidence
• refuses to cooperate with the complaints process resulting in lengthy delays
• changes the basis of the complaint as the investigation proceeds and,  or makes unjustified complaints about staff who are trying to deal with the complaint
• has harassed or been personally abusive or verbally aggressive on repeated occasions despite documented evidence of this being described to the complainant as unacceptable
• publishes derogatory information or statements about us or the services we provide, including those through partner organisations
• is known to have recorded meetings or face-to-face or telephone conversations without the prior knowledge and consent of other parties involved

It is not possible to devise a single strategy to deal with ‘persistent or vexatious complainants’. Each case must be looked at on its own merits. If we consider that  a complainant meets the above criteria we will implement the following procedure:

• we will inform the customer, in writing or at a face-to-face meeting, why we feel their behaviours or actions are unacceptable
• we will give them the opportunity to change their behaviours within a reasonable timescale before taking any further action.
• should the behaviours persist the complaints manager will gather evidence of these and present it to the relevant senior manager. The complaints manager and relevant managers will review the gathered evidence and decide on any potential restrictions that we will apply to the customer.

Where the above is undertaken we can apply restrictions in the ways the customer can access our services. This may include one or more of the following:

• limit their use of our complaints system to a single point of contact
• restrict contact to written communications only
• we will not respond to any further contact
• restrict or remove their license to enter our premises
• we may take legal action including injunctions or court orders

There is no right of appeal to Lincolnshire County Council regarding the implementation of this section of the policy. We would however direct the customer to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) should they not agree with the application of any such restrictions.

We will share information concerning the restrictions with relevant staff. We will register this information on the customer's record whilst restrictions are in place.

Withdrawing complaints

A complaint may be withdrawn verbally or in writing at any time by the customer (or their representative). Where this occurs the appropriate service manager will write to the customer confirming the withdrawal.