compliments & complaints procedure - Barnsley Council Online

COMPLIMENTS& COMPLAINTSPROCEDURE...for social care services to children,young people and familiesBARNSLEYMetropolitan Borough Council

WelcomeWe hope that the services we provide are of the quality andtype you expect. We would like to hear what you think and tolearn from both your good and bad experiences of ourservices. Please tell us what we are doing well and what needsimproving.This booklet explains how to let us know what you think, orwhat to do if you need an answer to a problem. You may usethe form in this booklet to make a complaint, a compliment ora comment.What can I expect when I make a complimentor complaint?• You will be treated fairly, with dignity and respect and yourconcerns and comments will be taken seriously. You shouldnot be afraid to complain.• Should your complaint raise any concerns about theprotection of children and young people this may be dealtwith under other procedures but you will be informed.• We will attempt to resolve your complaint as swiftlyand fully as possible.• You will be given help to find someone to support you withyour complaint if you need it.• If your compliment or complaint is about a service which thecouncil buys for you from a private company, we will notneglect our duty of care to you.• If your compliment or complaint involves other agencies wewill work with these to make a solution as simple as possiblefor you.

• You will be informed of your rights throughout the process.• Any promises made will be kept.• Your views will be used for the service to learn from anddevelop positivelyWhat can I give a compliment on or complainabout?We would like your views about:• The services provided including those to children in needand their families, to children looked after by the Council andtheir families, family support services, adoption services andservices to young people leaving care.• How services are provided including assessments and howdecisions are made.• The level and quality of services provided.• The attitude and behaviour of staffYou might want to complain if you feel we have• Failed to deal with your request for a service fairly.• Failed to provide a service.• Delayed in providing a service.• Not provided a service you feel you should have.• Failed to provide a good quality service.• Taken a long time to make a decision.• Made a decision you disagree with.• Treated you unfairly on grounds of race, sex, religion,sexuality, age or for any other reason.• Changed your services in a way you disagree with.• Failed to communicate with you or keep you informed.

Who can make a compliment or complaint?Anyone who applies for or receives our services, a carer, afamily member, a community group or any other representative.This includes foster carers, special guardians and peopleapplying to become adoptive parents.Help with making your compliment or complaint• You can ask a friend, relative, advisor or advocate to helpyou. He or she can write and speak on your behalf at anytime.• You can contact the Complaints Team for help, or we cangive you the name of someone from a local organisation.• A selection of organisations who may be able to help youare listed at the end of this booklet.Can I make a compliment or complaint for someone else?Yes, you can make a comment on behalf of any person who isreceiving a service, or has applied for a service from SocialServices. However, please consider the following:• Does the person know that you are contacting us?• Have you discussed this with the person?• Are you sure that you are representing their wishes?The Council has discretion whether or not to accept yourcomplaint on behalf of another person, even if this person is achild.Will my compliment or complaint be dealt with in confidence?Your comments will be dealt with in strict confidence and onlythe people involved will know who made them.

Talk it over firstIt is best for a problem to be dealt with where it happens. Tryto talk over the problem with the person you usually deal within the service. This can often be the quickest way of sortingthings out.If you’ve tried this and are unhappy with the response youreceived, please read on.How do I make a compliment or complaint?You can do this in several ways :-• fill in the form at the back of this booklet and post it back,• ring the office - telephone on 01226 772433,• send a fax - 01226 772515,• send an e-mail to: socialservicescomplaints@barnsley.gov.uk,• fill in the form on the website www.barnsley.gov.uk• write in - the address is at the end of this booklet,• call into Wellington House in person,• text the Complaints Team on mobile telephone number:07786525880Please contact the Complaints Team for advice if you would likea copy of this information in:• Braille or large print,• on audio tape,• in another language• in an electronic version• in a child friendly version

What will happen when I make a complaint?The Complaints Procedure.Our complaints procedure has three stages -You can withdraw your complaint at any of the stages.Please give enough information to make it clear what you arecomplaining about and say what you want the service to doabout it. Throughout each stage of the procedure we will makeevery effort to work with you to resolve your complaint andreach a resolution which is satisfactory to you.Your complaint can be dealt with more effectively if you:• clearly state what your complaint is as early as possible• be clear and realistic about what you want as a result ofyour complaint• cooperate fully with the Council to seek a solution• respond quickly when we ask you for information or want toarrange a meeting• tell the Complaints Manager if you need help to guide youthrough the process• treat all those involved in the complaint with dignity andrespect• read all the information in this leaflet.Complaints should be made within 12 months of the incident orissue occurring. The Complaints Manager is not obliged toaccept complaints after this time. Complaints received after 12months may be dealt with at the discretion of the ComplaintsManager depending on the circumstances.

Stage 1 - local resolutionIt may be possible to resolve your complaint at this stagethrough discussion with a manager of the service you arecomplaining about. We will ask the manager to look into yourcomplaint and you can expect them to talk to you as a first stepto resolving it. You will receive a letter from the same managerconfirming what has been agreed at your discussion orexplaining the outcome of your complaint.Our target is to resolve complaints at stage 1 within10 working days. This may take longer but shouldnot exceed 20 working days in total.We want to try and resolve complaints as quickly as possibleand we find most complaints can be successfully dealt with atthis stage. If you are not happy with the result, you can takethe complaint further to stage 2.Stage 2 - investigationTo take your complaint further, you need to let the ComplaintsManager know within 20 working days of you receiving yourStage 1 – local resolution letter.In most cases the Complaints Manager will appoint aninvestigating team consisting of an impartial investigatingofficer and an independent person to take an independent lookat your complaint.The investigating team will arrange to meet you so that you canfully explain your complaint. You may wish to have a friend,relative, advisor or advocate with you when this visit takesplace.The team will then interview all staff and other relevant people

concerned and read any reports and papers necessary.At the end of the investigation you will receive a writtendecision about your complaint from a senior manager ofChildren, Young People and Families Services and a copy ofthe investigating officer’s report. Only in exceptionalcircumstances will the report be withheld from you.Our target is to complete the formal investigation stage within25 working days, however this may take longer and may beextended to a maximum of 65 working days.You will be kept fully informed of what is happening.Stage 3 - the review panelIf you are still not happy after stage 2, you can ask for thedecision to be reviewed by a panel of three people. Thesepeople will be independent of Barnsley Council.You have 20 working days from the investigation response toyou to ask for a review panel. Please contact the ComplaintsManager who will consider your request and, if appropriate,arrange for the panel to meet.You will be invited to come to the panel meeting, either on yourown or with a friend, relative, advisor or advocate (but not asolicitor or barrister acting in a professional capacity). You willbe able to talk to the panel about your complaint and tell themwhy you disagree with the stage 2 decision.When the panel have spoken to everybody else involved, theywill consider your complaint in private and makerecommendations about it.The review panel will make their recommendations within 5

working days of the meeting and the Executive Director ofChildren, Young People and Families Services will write to youwithin a further 15 working days.What if I am unhappy with how my complaintis being dealt with?You can write to the Local Government Ombudsman at anystage of the process to ask them to look into your complaint. Ifyour complaint has not been dealt with at all stages of theCouncil’s procedure, the Ombudsman may ask for this tohappen before they will get involved.The address is :-The Local Government OmbudsmanBeverley House17 Shipton RoadYork YO3 6FZA booklet entitled ‘How to complain to the Local GovernmentOmbudsman’ is available from any Social Services DistrictOffice or the Complaints Manager at Wellington House.

Other useful informationThe following organisations may be able to help :-Citizens Advice Bureau1 Shambles StreetBarnsleyTel (01226) 206492NSPCCChildrens Rights Service9 Churchfield CourtBarnsleyS70 2JTTel: (01226) 779494

For more information about the complimentsand complaints procedurePlease contact:-The Complaints ManagerBarnsley Metropolitan Borough CouncilSocial ServicesWellington House36 Wellington StreetBarnsley S70 1WATelephone: (01226) 772433Fax: (01226) 772515E - mail: socialservicescomplaints@barnsley.gov.ukYou have other rights of complaint as well as the complaintsprocedure described in this booklet. You can contact:-• your Local Councillor.• your Local Member of Parliament.• write directly to the Executive Director, Children, YoungPeople and Families Service at Wellington House, the fulladdress is shown above.• or seek legal advice from a solicitor.

Compliments & complaints formPlease fill in this form if you wish to compliment or complainabout the services provided to you by Social Services.When you have completed it send it to :-The Complaints Manager, BMBC Children, Young People andFamilies Services, Wellington House, 36 Wellington Street,Barnsley, S70 1WA.I wish this matter to be dealt with as aCompliment Complaint CommentYour NameMr Mrs Miss MsAddressTelephone No.If you are making a compliment or complaint on behalf ofsomeone else, please give us details about that person :-Their nameMr Mrs Miss MsTheir addressTelephone No.Your relationship to this personTheir age if they are a child

Have you already discussed this with a member of our staff?YESNOWho did you speak to?What do you wish to tell us about. Please use the space below, ifthis is not enough, you can write on another sheet of paper andattach it to this form.

For complaints:-What would you like to be done to put things right?SignedDate

Equal Opportunities MonitoringTo help us make sure that no-one is treated unfairly because of theirsex, race or disability, please tick the details which apply to you.The equal opportunities monitoring section is optional, we wouldappreciate your co-operation in completing the following section.Please tick the boxes below which you feel appropriate. If you tick‘Other’ for any of the below, please state how you would describeyourself.Asian or British AsianBangladeshi Indian Pakistani Asian other*Chinese or other Chinese minority groupChineseWhiteChinese other*Irish Scottish Welsh English White other*MixedWhite & Black White & Black White & Asian Any other mixed*CaribbeanAfrican*If ‘other’ ticked please indicate hereWhat is your religion?NoneChristian (including Church of England, Catholic, Protestant and allother christian denominations)Buddist Hindu Muslim Sikh JewishAny other (If ticked please indicate here)Do you consider yourself disabled? Yes NoSexual orientationAre you Male FemaleAgeBisexual Gay Lesbian Hetrosexual Prefer not to sayUnder 16 16 - 20yrs 21 - 25yrs 26 - 30yrs 31 - 35yrs36 - 40yrs 41 - 45yrs 46 - 50yrs 51 - 55yrs 56 - 60yrs60 - 65yrs Over 65 Prefer not to say

Further copies of this leaflet are available from:TheThe Communications OfficerWellington House, 36 Wellington Street,Barnsley, S70 1WA.Telephone: 01226 772370If you need a copy of thisdocument in Hindi, Urdu,Punjabi, Chinese, Polish,Albanian, Russian, Arabic,Bengali, Farsi or Braille oron audio tape, pleasecontact us on:01226 772370BARNSLEYMetropolitan Borough CouncilSeptember 2007