Annual assessment of government complaint handling

Our report, Responsive and Accountable?, reveals how people are struggling to get government departments and public organisations to put right basic mistakes, causing distress, inconvenience and, in some cases, financial hardship. The report, our assessment of parliamentary complaint handling in 2011-12, shows just how difficult it can be to get your voice heard when things have gone wrong.

 

It tells the stories of some of the many people who turned to us for help when all other attempts to get simple problems resolved had left them with nowhere else to go. It includes the stories of:

  • A father who was deprived of child support for years because of mistakes made by the Child Support Agency.
  • A family that was left without tax credits for five months and had to borrow from relatives to make ends meet.
  • A man who was unable to work because of a delay in processing his HGV licence.

The report, our assessment of parliamentary complaint handling in 2011-12, shows just how difficult it can be to get your voice heard when things have gone wrong.

The report also demonstrates how resolving complaints quickly, rather than letting them escalate, is better for the public purse. In one case an incorrect legal aid decision not only prolonged the court action but ended up costing the taxpayer £135,000 in legal fees. Had the mistake been cleared up at the first time of asking, it would have cost just under £30,000.

Read the full report.