Complaints policy

Introduction

As a public authority, we want to ensure our customers are satisfied with our services. People may wish to:

tell us when they are satisfied with the services they have received
make suggestions on how we could improve
tell us when things have gone wrong

Dealing effectively with feedback is essential to providing good services.

This policy sets out how we will:

deal with complaints
ensure we consider concerns raised and make adjustments where required

Our guiding principles

We take all complaints seriously, deal with them appropriately and act on them where necessary.

We will:

put the customer at the heart of the process, show understanding and respond appropriately to the circumstances
resolve complaints as early as possible
keep the customer informed about the progress of the complaints
apologise if we have made a mistake or when something has gone wrong. We will put it right as soon as possible
make sure our response addresses all elements of the complaint
provide explanations for any decisions made or actions taken
positively use complaints information to prevent similar occurrences in the future

We encourage all our staff to resolve customers' issues without needing to use the formal complaints process. In many cases we can resolve concerns quickly by putting the problem right straight away.

What this policy covers

A complaint could be in relation to any of the following examples:

there has been a significant delay in providing a service
we have made a mistake in the way we provided a service
we have failed to deliver a service. This could relate to the quality, standard or service level
we have not listened properly
our processes or policies have not been followed
our legal or regulatory requirements have not been met
we have not delivered against a commitment or promise
our staff have not been helpful or have not conducted themselves correctly

We will consider every complaint on its merits. After initial conversations we will decide whether to implement the complaints policy. The customer relations team will make these decisions in consultation with a senior manager from the relevant service and if required, legal services.

Complaints not covered by this policy

Requests for service

These requests alert us to work to be done. They only become a complaint if we do not deal with them appropriately.

Requests for information (Subject Access Request and Freedom of Information Requests)

These should be referred to our customer information service. Dissatisfaction with the response to these requests should be directed to the Information Commissioners Office.

Immediate safeguarding concerns

If you believe that an individual is in immediate danger or risk of harm, you should report this to the police for immediate action

Appeals processes against a decision made

For some services alternative statutory appeal or tribunal processes must be used rather than this complaints policy. Whilst an appeal is in progress, we will direct any communication received by the customer relations team to the relevant appeals process. These include:

issues of parking notices, such as parking tickets and the recovery process
decisions on planning applications
decisions to exclude pupils from school
special education provision for a child
appeals against the outcome of an assessment under the Department for Transport 'Eligible subject to further assessment' criteria regarding the issue of a blue badge
decisions about the school a child should attend
complaints about academies
disputing invoices for adult social care services received

Complaints where the complainant does not have parental responsibility

Where we receive complaints in relation to services delivered to a family, where the complainant does not have Parental Responsibility (PR) for the children, we will advise that no further information will be made available unless we receive permission from an individual who does have PR.

Complaints on behalf of an adult who does not lack capacity

Where an adult is deemed to have capacity to speak on their own behalf, we are required to gain their permission to share any data. Should a complaint be raised on behalf of an individual who has capacity, but we have not been provided with permission to share information, we may reject this request, until permission is given.

Complaints about Councillors

All members (elected Councillors and co-opted members) are expected to work to the highest standards of integrity. They agree to work to a code of conduct setting out how they should behave towards members of the public, people working for the council and themselves. Complaints about Councillors breaching the code of conduct are dealt with by the Monitoring Officer who can be contacted at:

Lincolnshire County Council, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln, LN1 1YL
By email: monitoring_officer@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Commissioned services

Where a customer receives a service from a provider commissioned by us, complaints should, in the first instance, be made directly to the external provider through its own complaints procedure. External providers must inform the relevant service of all complaints reviewed under their procedures and any action taken in response. If customers remain dissatisfied with a response from the provider, they should contact the complaints manager for further advice and guidance.

Complaints made more than one year after the customer became aware of the issue (unless in exceptional circumstances)

This is because such complaints can be difficult to investigate fully or fairly.

Staff personnel issues including:

disciplinary
grievance
pay
recruitment and selection processes

These should be progressed with guidance from specific HR policies and procedures.

Complaints regarding the qualification of our staff

All staff are employed based on their suitability and relevant qualifications for the role. Therefore we will not accept any complaint which questions whether a particular staff member is qualified to fulfil their role under this policy. Please note that this does not apply to complaints where you believe that staff have not acted appropriately.

Allegations of fraud, theft or corruption by a member of staff

Any serious concerns about a member of staff should be reported to our audit and strategic risk management team:
Email: customer_services@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Complaints about data protection

The following complaints should initially be raised directly with our Data Protection Officer to enable any issues to be resolved:

how we have processed personal data
information sharing, disclosure or retention
how we have responded to an individual rights request
information security

Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dpo@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Should there remain concerns about how we handle data the customer should contact the complaints manager for advice and guidance.

Complaints that have already exhausted our process:

if the same complaint has received a final written decision or
the complaint has already been referred to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) or the Information Commissioner (ICO).

How should customers make a complaint?

Before making a formal complaint, we encourage customers to contact our customer relations team to discuss their concerns in detail. This provides an opportunity to gain clarity of the situation and, where necessary, put things right.

Should we not be able to address the concerns or rectify the situation, the customer may then choose to follow the appropriate complaints procedure, as detailed below.

An appointed customer relations adviser will act as a point of liaison between the customer and the service. They will find the required information and provide details of what has happened. Where the service is at fault, we will apologise and tell the customer what we will do to rectify the situation.

The customer relations team can be contacted by:

completing our online form
emailing CustomerRelationsTeam@lincolnshire.gov.uk
writing to Customer relations team, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln, LN1 1YL
visiting any of our offices that are open to the public

The customer should provide as much detail as possible including:

what has happened or gone wrong from their perspective
when it happened (or should have happened)
why and how we could have done things differently
what they think we should do to put things right
their preferred method of contact and their contact details

How we deal with complaints

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.

Fluency duty

Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 requires that employees working in public-facing roles in the public sector speak a level of English (or Welsh in Wales) which is sufficient to enable them to effectively carry out their role. A complaint made to us under the Fluency Duty is one where a member of the public feels a public-facing employee has insufficient proficiency in spoken English for the performance of their role. We will deal with complaints made under the Fluency Duty as a corporate complaint.

A complaint about a public sector employee's accent, dialect, manner or tone of communication, origin or nationality is not considered a legitimate complaint under the Fluency Duty.

Access to information

Data Protection legislation regulates the processing of information relating to individuals (data subjects). It provides them with several rights regarding the information held about them.

Enquirers can provide feedback about how we process their information as detailed in section 4 above.

Should the enquirer remain dissatisfied with our response they can raise this with the Information Commissioner's Office.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 regulates the disclosure of non-personal information. If dissatisfied with a FOI response, an enquirer should first approach the customer information service to request an internal review. After this, if they remain dissatisfied, they can approach the Information Commissioner's Office to appeal against a decision or complain about an unsatisfactory response.

The complaints policy is not a mechanism for individuals to exercise their data protection rights or to submit freedom of information requests. This should be done by contacting the customer information service.

Reporting and review

We have a complaints manager whose role is to:

manage (collate, monitor and report) complaints across the Council
ensure that we learn from them when we have done something wrong

The complaints manager:

oversees the complaints policy and associated procedures
ensures the consistency of its application across the Council

Policy review

We will review this policy in March 2023.