Feedback policy 

How we deal with complaints and other feedback.

1. Introduction 

1.1. Haringey Council is committed to providing excellent services to our residents, business owners and visitors. We understand that sometimes things can go wrong, and we welcome feedback to rectify mistakes, learn from them and improve our services.  

1.2. This policy outlines our commitment to effectively handle complaints in line with the current Ombudsman guidance: 

1.3. Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman complaints handling code

1.4. Housing Ombudsman complaints handling code 

1.5. Additionally, this policy addresses how we will handle compliments and suggestions. 

2. Scope

2.1. We encourage anyone that uses or is affected by our services to give us feedback. We also accept feedback from people acting on behalf of someone else with their consent, such as friends, representatives, or advocacy workers. 

3. Definition of a service request 

3.1. Haringey Council has adopted the Ombudsman’s definition of a service request which is:  

a request that the organisation provides or improves a service, fixes a problem or reconsiders a decision

4. Definition of complaint 

4.1. Haringey Council has adopted the Ombudsman’s definition of a complaint which is:

an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual or group of individuals

4.2 In this policy the term ‘resident’ denotes an individual or organisation resident or working in the borough or using services provided by the Council including council tenants, council leaseholders and council licensees. 

5. Principles 

5.1. Our complaints handling process adheres to the following principles:

  • early resolution: we will aim to resolve complaints as swiftly as possible. Where we have got things wrong we will apologise at the earliest opportunity
  • fairness: we will treat all complainants with fairness, impartiality, and respect, regardless of their background or circumstances and deal with their complaints on their merits
  • transparency: we will be transparent in our communication and provide clear information about the complaint process
  • accountability: we will take responsibility for addressing complaints promptly and effectively
  • accessibility: we will ensure that our complaints procedure is accessible to all residents, including those with disabilities or language barriers 
  • learning and improvement: we view complaints as opportunities for learning and improving our services 

6. Making a complaint 

6.1. A simple enquiry, request or report of a single service failure will not be recorded as a complaint (e.g. a report of a missed bin collection, streetlight not working, or repair being needed). This is because such issues can usually be put right reasonably quickly and without detailed investigation.  

6.2. Matters excluded from our complaints policy are set out in section 7 below. 

6.3. Complaints relating to Adult Social Care and/or Children and Young Peoples’ Social Care are dealt with under different regulations and are set out in Appendix 1 and 2. 

6.4. Residents can make complaints through various channels including: 

  • online via our official website
  • email: feedback@haringey.gov.uk  
  • phone: 0208 489 3424 
  • in person at one of our customer service centres based in 2 locations:  
    • Marcus Garvey Library and Customer Service Centre, Tottenham Green Pools and Fitness, 1 Philip Lane, Tottenham N15 4JA 
    • Wood Green Customer Service Centre, Wood Green Library, 187-197A High Road, Wood Green N22 6XD 
  • in writing:  
    • Feedback and Resolutions Team, Alexandra House, 10 Station Road, Wood Green N22 7TR 

7. Complaints must include:

  • the resident's name and contact details. 
  • a clear description of the issue. 
  • any supporting evidence if available. 

7.1. We recognise some residents may need additional support with submitting complaints, and in those circumstances, we will make reasonable adjustments to simplify the process. 

8. Matters not addressed under this policy 

  • The commencement or conduct of legal proceedings. 
  • Matters of law or central government policy. 
  • Personnel matters, including an employee appointments, removals, pay, discipline, or pension. 
  • Where there is an alternative appeal process before a court or tribunal, e.g. about the refusal of planning permission, school admissions or exclusions, housing benefit, penalty charge notices (e.g. parking fines), contractors or suppliers disputing invoices, terms of contracts or alleging a breach of contract. 
  • Matters best dealt with by an insurer (e.g. insurance claims). 
  • Matters already decided by a court, tribunal or ombudsman ruling. 
  • Data protection breaches. 
  • Freedom of information / environmental information requests. 
  • Complaints relating to Child Protection Conferences, which are referred to the Haringey Safeguarding Children Partnership. Such complaints may be about:  
    • the process of the conference.  
    • the outcome; and/or  
    • a decision about a child protection plan.  
  • Complaints about Children and Young People’s Social Care which are dealt with under a separate statutory procedure.  
  • Adult Social Care complaints that are dealt with under a separate statutory procedure. 
  • Disputes between tenants unless directly related to the handling of the dispute. 
  • Complaints raised about a Council Service through elected members (Councillors or MPs), which are handled as Member Enquiries.  
  • Complaints about Councillors, which are handled separately by the Monitoring Officer and Standards Committee. 
  • Matters outside the designated time frame or beyond the Council’s control. 

8.1. If Haringey Council determines a complaint does not fall within the scope of this policy, an explanation will be provided to the complainant setting out the reasons why.  

8.2. Complainants retain the right to challenge this decision by escalating their complaint to the relevant Ombudsman, as advised in our response. The Ombudsman may instruct the Council to accept the complaint where appropriate. 

9.1. Residents may choose to have an advocate or support person to assist with their complaint.

9.2. Written consent is required if the resident wants the Council to liaise directly with the support person or advocate. 

9.3. Haringey Council will: 

  • aim to simplify the consent process. 
  • ensure the process does not make it difficult for someone to make a complaint.  

9.4. If written consent cannot be given, alternative options for obtaining consent or responding to the issue will be considered. 

10. Complaints Handling Procedure

10.1. Our complaints handling procedure comprises two stages: 

10.2. Stage 1 – Service Investigation:

  • Upon receiving a complaint, we will acknowledge it within 5 working days and will provide a reference number.  
  • The complaint is assigned to the relevant department for investigation and resolution. We aim to resolve complaints within 10 working days of acknowledgement.  
  • If more time is needed for the investigation, we will let you know and give you a new response date. 
  • The complainant receives a written response detailing the resolution. 
  • Complaints about staff members are investigated by the officer’s line manager in line with our employment policies.  The outcome of this process will not be shared with the complainant in order to protect employee confidentiality.   
  • Where the complaint relates to a third-party contractor, we may refer the complaint to them to undertake the service investigation.  

10.3. Stage 2 – Review:

  • If the resident considers that all or part of the complaint has not been resolved to their satisfaction at stage 1, they may request that it be progressed to Stage 2, save that disagreement with Council policy cannot be escalated to Stage 2.
  • The request should specify the reasons for the resident’s dissatisfaction and their desired outcomes. 
  • We will acknowledge the request within 5 working days. 
  • We will give a written response within 20 working days of acknowledgement. 
  • If more time is needed for the review, a Senior Feedback & Resolutions Officer will let you know and give you a new response date. 
  • The Stage 1 response will be reviewed at Stage 2 by the Feedback & Resolutions team, not by the service who investigated the initial complaint. 
  • The Stage 2 response is the Council’s final response. 

10.4. Review by the Ombudsman: 

  • If the resident is dissatisfied after Stage 2, they can escalate the complaint to the relevant Ombudsman for an independent review. 
  • Although residents can complain directly to the Ombudsman at any point, completing the Council’s complaints process first is encouraged. 

11. Time limits for complaints 

11.1. Haringey Council will not normally accept complaints made after 12 months, but exceptions may apply in exceptional circumstances.  

11.2. An explanation for the delay with supporting evidence will normally be required.  

11.3. Factors considered include: 

  1. Reasons for the delay;  
  2. Council responsibility for the delay;  
  3. Personal circumstances of the complainant; and  
  4. Any disability or vulnerability contributing to the delay. 

11.4. Requests to escalate complaints to Stage 2 should be made within 6 months of the Stage 1 response.  

12. Right to withdraw a complaint 

12.1. Residents have the right to withdraw a complaint at any time.  

12.2. Please contact the Feedback and Resolutions Team to withdraw your complaint.  

13 Complaints made directly to the chief executive  

13.1. Complaints raised directly with the chief executive are forwarded to the Feedback and Resolutions Team for acknowledgement and handling under the complaints process.  

13.2. This ensures all complaints receive equitable treatment and access to the relevant Ombudsman if dissatisfied with the outcome. 

14. Compliments and suggestions 

14.1. We value compliments received from residents when an officer has demonstrated exceptional service that is beyond their daily duties. Officers receiving compliments will be recognised with a letter of appreciation from their Head of Service.  

14.2. Our preferred method for receiving compliments or suggestions is through our online feedback form.  

14.3. We acknowledge that not all residents may have access to this, so we will accept compliments and suggestions through the contact methods outlined in section 6.4 above.  

14.4. We make reasonable adjustments to support residents who are unable to use alternative means of communication.  

14.5. Suggestions received will be acknowledged, and appropriate action will be taken within 10 working days. The service officer will update the customer on the implementation of the suggestion or give reasons if it cannot be implemented. 

15. Equality and diversity  

15.1. Equality and diversity are of fundamental importance to services provided regardless of a person’s protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, religion, pregnancy and maternity, race, belief, or sex).  

15.2. All must be treated with respect.

15.3. The Council treats everyone it houses, serves, and employs, fairly, and encourages others to do the same.  

15.4. This policy provides assurance that compensation is offered in a fair and consistent way.

16. Data protection  

16.1. Haringey Council is committed to ensuring that data is:  

  • processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner
  • collected for a specific and legitimate purpose and not used for anything other than this stated purpose
  • relevant and limited to whatever the requirements are for which the data is processed
  • accurate, and where necessary, kept up to date. Any identified inaccuracies will be amended or removed without undue delay 
  • stored (only) for as long as required, as specified within the retention policy
  • secured with appropriate solutions, which protect against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage

17. Monitoring and reporting

17.1. The Council has a responsibility to report on its complaints processes, including the number of complaints received, response times, and outcomes.  

17.2. This information will be made publicly available. 

18. Training and development  

18.1. Our staff will receive training on complaints handling, ensuring they are equipped to handle complaints effectively and in line with Ombudsman complaints handling codes.

19. Implementation and review 

19.1. This policy will be implemented on 17 July 2024 

19.2. It will be reviewed every three years to ensure its effectiveness and relevance in addressing residents' needs and concerns, or sooner to incorporate legislative and/or regulatory amendments, best practice developments, or to address any operational issues identified with the process. 

19.3. The next review date is July 2027  

19.4. This policy is published on the Haringey website.  

Appendices 

Appendix 1 – complaints about adult social care 

1. How we will deal with your complaint 

We will: 

  1. write to you to acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days. 
  2. assign your complaint to the relevant service or authority, who will conduct an investigation into your complaint.  
  3. offer to discuss your complaint with you and explain how the complaint will be investigated. 
  4. respond to your complaint with our decision in writing, where possible we will do this within 10 working days.  

2. If you have an advocate 

  1. If you have an advocate (someone who represents you), we will deal directly with them until the investigation into the complaint is completed. If you don't have an advocate, we will consider whether to appoint one. 

3. High-risk cases 

  1. In high-risk cases, we will appoint an independent investigating officer. This is someone who:
    • does not work for us 
    • is independent of the service involved 
  2. In these cases, we will appoint an adjudicating officer to consider the independent investigating officer’s findings. The adjudicating officer will respond to you explaining whether or not they accept the investigating officer’s findings with clear explanations. 
  3. The timescale may be extended in high risk or complex cases, and we will write to let you know if that is the case. 

4. If we are unable to resolve the issue 

  1. If we are unable to resolve the issue and you remain dissatisfied with the response, you can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. We will provide the relevant contact details when we respond to the complaint. 

Appendix 2 – complaints about children’s social care 

If you are a young person, you can get help with your complaint by contacting Barnardo's – advocacy services in Haringey.  

They help young people who want to complain about children's social care services. You can also ask us to contact the organisations on your behalf. 

1. How we will deal with your complaint 

There are 3 stages to how we deal with your complaint. 

Stage 1 – local problem solving:

  1. When we receive your complaint, we will try to sort out the problem straight away. If we can't, we will ask a senior manager to investigate and respond to you within 10 working days. 

Stage 2 – the formal stage:

  1. An independent investigating officer will investigate your complaint.  
  2. The investigator will meet with you so that they can fully understand your complaint before they start the investigation. 
  3. An independent person will also be appointed to make sure that your concerns are taken seriously and that you are treated fairly.  
  4. The investigation should normally take between 25 to 65 working days. 

Stage 3 – the review panel:

  1. A review panel meeting will consider your complaint, which you will be invited to.  
  2. The panel will be 3 independent people who will hear your complaint and consider how it can be resolved. 
  3. You have the right to bring an advocate or representative to speak on your behalf. 

2. If we are unable to resolve the issue 

  1. If we are unable to resolve the issue and you are dissatisfied with the response, you can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. We will provide the relevant contact details when we respond to the complaint.