Today (24 June) we are launching new standards for complaint handling which must be followed by all government departments and relevant arm’s length bodies.

The new standards require detailed recording of complaints alongside analysis to identify learning and drive improvement. An oversight role for non-executives in scrutinising complaint culture and performance is also a key change. 

Public bodies are expected to consider the information they have about complaints alongside whistleblowing information, internal audit reports, staff grievances or concerns to help identify where more systemic failings may have occurred.

The standards are supported by the sector specific Model Complaint Handling Procedures (MCHP), which will ensure a more consistent, person-centred approach to managing complaints across. New online training resources also support staff who have a role in managing and overseeing complaints.

Margaret Kelly, the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman, said: 

“The new approach seeks a change in culture. It emphasises that public bodies are expected to acknowledge where things have gone wrong and seek to put them right. 

Too often public bodies have received complaints which indicate a wider problem, but they have not been recorded or acted upon, and unfortunately, we have often seen this come out in subsequent public inquiries. It is critical that the civil service and their arm’s length bodies embrace the change in culture and use complaints as an opportunity for openness, improvement and learning.” 

Commenting ahead of the launch, Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Jayne Brady said:

"Publication of the Model Complaint Handling Procedures marks an important milestone in how government departments and arm's length bodies listen and respond to the people they serve. 

By adopting them, we are making a clear public commitment to transforming the culture around complaints across the entire civil service which will ensure that when things go wrong, we acknowledge it, learn from it, and do better."

The overhaul follows the findings from a recent survey which shows that while more than half of the population (55%) felt unhappy with a public service over the last five years, fewer than half of those people made a complaint.

Respondents told the survey that they felt the system was too hard to navigate, with 71% of those who chose not to complain saying it wouldn’t change anything.