Complaint handling systems across government
Our survey suggested there were a wide range of complaints systems in use across government. To understand how this might appear to a member of the public wanting to complain, we looked at the information available on a small sample selection of public bodies’ websites. The results are shown in the chart below.
| Department | Body | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | Front Line Staff | Central Complaints Team | Other Manager/Senior Officer | Parliamentary Ombudsman | ||
| Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | Insolvency Service | Front Line Staff | Local Manager/Senior Officer | Local Manager/Senior Officer | Arms length complaints handler | Parliamentary Ombudsman |
| Department for Communities and Local Government | Front Line Staff | Local Manager/Senior Officer | Central Complaints Team | Parliamentary Ombudsman | ||
| Department for Communities and Local Government | Planning Inspectorate | Central Complaints Team | Parliamentary Ombudsman | |||
| Department for Communities and Local Government | Planning Inspectorate | Central Complaints Team | Parliamentary Ombudsman | |||
| Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs | Front Line Staff | Local Manager/Senior Officer | Arms length complaints handler | Parliamentary Ombudsman | ||
| Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs | Rural Payments Agency | Front Line Staff | Central Complaints Team | Parliamentary Ombudsman | ||
| Department for Transport | Front Line Staff | Local Manager/Senior Officer | Arms length complaints handler | Parliamentary Ombudsman | ||
| Department for Transport | Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency | Front Line Staff | Local Manager/Senior Officer | Chief Executive | Parliamentary Ombudsman | |
| Department for Transport | Highways Agency | Front Line Staff | Chief Executive | Arms length complaints handler | Parliamentary Ombudsman | |
| Department for Work and Pensions | Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency | Front Line Staff | Local Manager/Senior Officer | Other Manager/Senior Officer | Parliamentary Ombudsman | |
| Department for Work and Pensions | Child Support Agency | Front Line Staff | Central Complaints Team | Central Complaints Team | Arms length complaints handler | Parliamentary Ombudsman |
| Department for Work and Pensions | Jobcentre Plus | Front Line Staff | Other Manager/Senior Officer | Chief Executive | Arms length complaints handler | Parliamentary Ombudsman |
| HM Revenue & Customs | Front Line Staff | Central Complaints Team | Central Complaints Team | Arms length complaints handler | Parliamentary Ombudsman | |
| HM Revenue & Customs | Valuation Office Agency | Front Line Staff | Local Manager/Senior Officer | Central Complaints Team | Arms length complaints handler | Parliamentary Ombudsman |
| Home Office | Central Complaints Team | Other Manager/Senior Officer | Parliamentary Ombudsman | |||
| Home Office | UK Border Agency | Central Complaints Team | Central Complaints Team | Arms length complaints handler | Parliamentary Ombudsman | |
| Ministry of Justice | Front Line Staff | Central Complaints Team | Other Manager/Senior Officer | Parliamentary Ombudsman | ||
| Ministry of Justice | HM Courts and Tribunals Service | Front Line Staff | Local Manager/Senior Officer | Central Complaints Team | Parliamentary Ombudsman |
†‘Front line’ is given as the first stage for public bodies who specifically state this to be the first stage of their complaint procedure. It is also used where public bodies tell the public that they should first put their concern to the member of staff they had been dealing with. This is even if the public body does not treat that as the first stage of its formal complaints procedure.
