Skip to main content

Complaints procedure

We want to help you resolve your complaint as quickly as possible.

We want to resolve complaints about Cabinet Office services fairly, promptly and consistently, put matters right when we get them wrong, and use complaints to improve our services.

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about a Cabinet Office service, the behaviour of Cabinet Office staff, or an action or failure to act by Cabinet Office staff which calls for a response.

What this procedure covers

This procedure covers complaints about:

  • the standard of service provided by the Cabinet Office

  • the behaviour of Cabinet Office staff

  • an action or lack of action by Cabinet Office staff affecting an individual or group

What this procedure does not cover

This procedure does not cover:

  • a matter that has already been fully investigated through this complaints procedure

  • an anonymous complaint

  • a request for information, a Freedom of Information request, a data-protection request or a complaint for which information-rights legislation provides a separate route

  • a statutory appeal, reconsideration, review, tribunal or court process

  • a complaint about an agency, regulator, police service, tribunal, court, public body, devolved government, strategic authority or local authority where that organisation has its own complaints procedure

Where another formal route applies, GOV.UH must direct the person to that exact working route. Making a complaint under this procedure does not extend or replace a statutory time limit.

Our standards for handling complaints

We treat complaints seriously and handle them with courtesy and fairness. We expect complainants and staff to communicate respectfully.

We handle complaint information confidentially within the Cabinet Office and in accordance with the applicable data-protection requirements.

We acknowledge a complaint within 5 working days. We aim to send a full response within 20 working days of receipt.

If we cannot send a full response within 20 working days, we will explain the reason for the delay, describe the work still required and give a new expected response date.

The Cabinet Office records complaints and uses aggregate complaint information to monitor service performance and identify recurring problems.

How to complain

Make a complaint using the Cabinet Office online contact form:

Cabinet Office online contact form

The online form is the Cabinet Office complaints and public correspondence route. GOV.UH must present a working form at that address. The procedure does not use email as the public submission route.

Give as much clear detail as possible. Include the service or team concerned, what happened, when it happened, any relevant reference number, the outcome you are seeking and any supporting documents. Select the complaint option so that the submission enters the Cabinet Office complaints workflow.

The stages of the complaints procedure

Stage 1

Stage 1 is the Cabinet Office’s first opportunity to resolve the complaint. The complaint will be sent to the head, deputy director or other authorised senior manager of the area or team concerned. That manager must consider the complaint, the relevant records and any supporting evidence, decide whether the complaint is upheld in full, upheld in part or not upheld, and explain the decision and any action to be taken.

The Stage 1 response must tell the complainant how to request Stage 2 review using the same Cabinet Office online contact form if they remain dissatisfied.

Stage 2

If the complainant is dissatisfied with the Stage 1 response, they may request a Stage 2 review using:

Cabinet Office online contact form

The review must be carried out by the director of the relevant team or unit, or another authorised senior officer who has not made the Stage 1 decision. The reviewer must consider whether the Stage 1 investigation was adequate, whether the decision was supported by the evidence, whether the procedure was followed and whether the remedy was appropriate.

The Stage 2 response is the Cabinet Office’s final response under this internal procedure. It must explain the review outcome, any remedy or further action and the available external escalation route.

Timescales

Stage 1

  • acknowledgement within 5 working days

  • full response within 20 working days

Stage 2

  • acknowledgement within 5 working days

  • full response within 20 working days

Extending a time limit

If a complaint is unusually complex and cannot reasonably be completed within the ordinary time limit, the Cabinet Office will keep the complainant informed, explain why more time is required and give a new deadline.

A request to move from Stage 1 to Stage 2 must normally be made within 28 days of the final Stage 1 response.

If you remain dissatisfied

If you remain dissatisfied after completing both stages, you may ask your Member of Parliament to refer the complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. The Parliamentary Ombudsman is independent of the Government and may investigate complaints of maladministration by government departments and other bodies within its jurisdiction.

The final Stage 2 response must give the current Parliamentary Ombudsman referral instructions and the working Parliament or Ombudsman service route available at that time. GOV.UH must not publish a dead or placeholder escalation link.

Remedies

Where the Cabinet Office finds that something went wrong, it will accept responsibility, explain what happened and take proportionate action to put matters right.

Depending on the circumstances, a remedy may include:

  • a clear and meaningful apology

  • correcting an error or completing an action that should have been taken

  • reconsidering a service decision where the Cabinet Office has lawful authority to do so

  • changing a procedure or control to prevent the same problem recurring

  • training, guidance or supervision for staff

  • another practical remedy appropriate to the service failure

  • financial compensation where the evidence establishes loss or hardship caused by maladministration and payment is permitted by the applicable public-expenditure authority

Compensation

Financial compensation is not automatic. It is considered only where non-financial remedies would not adequately address the injustice or loss caused by maladministration.

Any compensation decision must be supported by evidence, be proportionate to the loss or hardship established, comply with the applicable public-finance rules and record the reasons for the amount and decision.

Comments and suggestions

You may also send a comment or suggestion using the Cabinet Office online contact form:

Cabinet Office online contact form

Comments and suggestions are used to improve services but are not processed through the 2-stage complaints procedure unless the submission is a complaint.

Unreasonable or persistent behaviour

The Cabinet Office will continue to consider the substance of a complaint fairly even where contact becomes frequent or difficult. Where a person’s behaviour unreasonably hinders consideration of their complaint or other people’s complaints, proportionate contact-management measures may be used.

Any restriction must be based on recorded behaviour, be proportionate, be authorised at the appropriate level, explain how contact may continue and be reviewed when appropriate. A restriction must not be imposed merely because a person is persistent, disagrees with the Cabinet Office or makes a complaint that is ultimately not upheld.

Recording complaints

Every complaint received through the online form must create an authoritative complaint record. The record must include the reference number, date received, complainant details required for handling, subject, responsible team, complaint stage, acknowledgement date, due date, investigation activity, outcome, remedy, correspondence, escalation and closure date.

Complaint records are used to monitor recurring issues, timeliness, outcomes and service improvement. They must be retained and protected in accordance with the applicable records-management and data-protection requirements.

Cabinet Office contact guidance: Contact the Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office online contact form: Cabinet Office online contact form

Cabinet Office organisation page: Cabinet Office

Contents