Make a complaint

We value complaints and use information from them to help us improve our services.

If something goes wrong or you are dissatisfied with our services, please tell us. This page describes our complaints procedure and how to make a complaint. It also tells you about how we will handle your complaint and what you can expect from us.

We regard a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction about our action or lack of action, or about the standard of service provided by us or on our behalf.

Services provided on the Council’s behalf

Your complaint may be about a service being provided on behalf of the Council.

Our service providers require to have their own complaints procedure which mirrors our complaints procedure and they are expected to provide complaints performance information to the Council.

Customers using these services are normally encouraged to use the provider’s complaints procedure. As an alternative, and in certain circumstances, you can request that your complaint is routed through the Council.

• failure or refusal to provide a service
• inadequate quality or standard of service, or an unreasonable delay in providing a service
• dissatisfaction with one of our policies or its impact on the individual
• failure to properly apply law, procedure or guidance when delivering services
• failure to follow the appropriate administrative process
• conduct, treatment by or attitude of a member of staff or contractor (except where there are arrangements in place for the contractor to handle the complaint themselves); or
• disagreement with a decision, (except where there is a statutory procedure for challenging that decision, or an established appeals process followed throughout the sector).

Your complaint may involve more than one Stirling Council service or be about someone working on our behalf.

There are some things we can’t deal with through our complaints handling procedure.

These include:

• a routine first-time request for a service
• a first-time report of a fault (for example, potholes or street lighting)
• a request for compensation only
• issues that are in court or have already been heard by a court or a tribunal (if you decide to take legal action, you should let us know as the complaint cannot then be considered under this process)
• disagreement with a decision where there is a statutory procedure for challenging that decision (such as for freedom of information and subject access requests), or an established appeals process followed throughout the sector – such as council tax, planning, or a parking ticket appeal
• disagreement with decisions or conditions that are based upon social work recommendations, but determined by a court or other statutory body, for example decisions made by a children's panel, parole board or mental health tribunal
• a request for information under the Data Protection or Freedom of Information (Scotland) Acts
• a grievance by a staff member or a grievance relating to employment or staff recruitment
• a concern raised internally by a member of staff (which was not about a service they received, such as a whistleblowing concern)
• a concern about a child or an adult’s safety
• an attempt to reopen a previously concluded complaint or to have a complaint reconsidered where we have already given our final decision
• abuse or unsubstantiated allegations about our organisation or staff where such actions would be covered by our Acceptable Actions Policy.
• a concern about the actions or service of a different organisation, where we have no involvement in the issue (except where the other organisation is delivering services on our behalf).

If other procedures or rights of appeal can help you resolve your concerns, we will give information and advice to help you.

Anyone who receives, requests or is directly affected by our services can make a complaint to us. This includes the representative of someone who is dissatisfied with our service (for example, a relative, friend, advocate or adviser). If you are making a complaint on someone else’s behalf, you will normally need their written consent. Please also read the section on Getting help to make your complaint below.

You can complain in person at any of our offices, by phone, in writing, by email or via our complaints web form.

It is easier for us to address complaints if you make them quickly and directly to the service concerned. So please talk to a member of our staff at the service you are complaining about. Then they can try to resolve the issue.

When complaining, please tell us:

• your full name and contact details
• as much as you can about the complaint
• what has gone wrong
• what outcome you are seeking

Our contact details

Address: Corporate Complaints and Enquiries
Communities and Performance
Stirling Council
Viewforth 14-20 Pitt Terrace Stirling FK8 2ET
Email: corporatecomplaints@stirling.gov.uk Tel: 01786 404040
Online: See complaints web form below.

We value all complaints, including anonymous complaints, and will take action to consider them further wherever this is appropriate. Generally, we will consider anonymous complaints if there is enough information in the complaint to enable us to make further enquiries. If we pursue an anonymous complaint further, we will record it as an anonymous complaint together with any learning from the complaint and action taken.

Normally, you must make your complaint within six months of:

• the event you want to complain about; or
• finding out that you have a reason to complain.

In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a complaint after the time limit. If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.

We will always tell you who is dealing with your complaint. Our complaints procedure has two stages.

Stage 1: Frontline response

We aim to respond to complaints quickly (where possible, when you first tell us about the issue). This could mean an on-the-spot apology and explanation if something has clearly gone wrong, or immediate action to resolve the problem.

We will give you our decision at stage 1 in five working days or less, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

If you are not satisfied with the response we give at this stage, we will tell you what you can do next. If you choose to, you can take your complaint to stage 2. You must normally ask us to consider your complaint at stage 2 either:

• within six months of the event you want to complain about or finding out that you have a reason to complain; or
• within two months of receiving your stage 1 response (if this is later).

In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a stage 2 complaint after the time limit. If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.

Stage 2: Investigation

Stage 2 deals with two types of complaint: those that have not been resolved at stage 1 and those that clearly require investigation, and so are handled directly at this stage. If you do not wish your complaint to be handled at stage 1, you can ask us to handle it at stage 2 instead.
When using stage 2:

• we will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days
• we will confirm our understanding of the complaint we will investigate and what outcome you are looking for
• we will try to resolve your complaint where we can (in some cases we may suggest using an alternative complaint resolution approach, such as mediation); and
• where we cannot resolve your complaint, we will give you a full response as soon as possible, normally within 20 working days.

If our investigation will take longer than 20 working days, we will tell you. We will tell you our revised time limits and keep you updated on progress.

After we have given you our final decision, if you are still dissatisfied with our decision or the way we dealt with your complaint, you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to look at it.

The SPSO are an independent organisation that investigates complaints. They are not an advocacy or support service (but there are other organisations who can help you with advocacy or support).

You can ask the SPSO to look at your complaint if:

• you have gone all the way through Stirling Council's complaints handling procedure
• it is less than 12 months after you became aware of the matter you want to complain about; and
• the matter has not been (and is not being) considered in court.

The SPSO will ask you to complete a complaint form and provide a copy of our final response to your complaint.
You can do this online at : www.spso.org.uk/complain/form
or call them on Freephone 0800 377 7330.
You may wish to get independent support or advocacy to help you progress your complaint. See the section on Getting help to make your complaint below.

The SPSO’s contact details are:

SPSO, Bridgeside House, 99 McDonald Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4NS
(if you would like to visit in person, you must make an appointment first)

Their freepost address is: FREEPOST SPSO
Freephone: 0800 377 7330
Online contact www.spso.org.uk/contact-us
Website: www.spso.org.uk

There are some complaints that have an alternative route for independent review. We will tell you how to seek independent review when we give you our final response on your complaint.

If your complaint relates to a care service we provide, you can choose whether to complain to us or the Care Inspectorate. You can find out more about their complaints procedure, or make a complaint, by contacting them.
The Care Inspectorate has several offices around Scotland. Please refer to: http://www.scswis.com/

Stirling Council has implemented the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’s two-stage complaints process across all services. Our staff receive formal training and informal support on complaint handling and we publish complaint handling performance data in our quarterly basis report.

Our annual complaints report outlines the improvements we are making as a result of complaints and contains our yearly complaints performance.

View the Stirling Council Annual Complaints Report 2022/23 below.

We understand that you may be unable or reluctant to make a complaint yourself. We accept complaints from the representative of a person who is dissatisfied with our service. We can take complaints from a friend, relative, or an advocate, if you have given them your consent to complain for you.

The following organisations can help you with your complaint. Their service is confidential and independent from the Council and there is no charge.

Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance
Tel: 0131 524 1975 | email: enquiry@siaa.org.uk
www.siaa.org.uk
Central Advocacy Partners Tel: 01324 633 321 |email: info@centraladvocacypartners.org.uk
www.centraladvocacypartners.org.uk

Forth Valley Advocacy
Tel: 01324 557070 | email: info@forthvalleyadvocacy.com

You can find out about advisers in your area through Citizens Advice Scotland:
Citizens Advice Scotland
Website: http://www.cas.org.uk or check your phone book for your local citizens advice bureau.

We are committed to making our service easy to use for all members of the community. In line with our statutory equalities duties, we will always ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to help customers access and use our services.

If you have trouble putting your complaint in writing, or want this information in another language or format, such as large font, or Braille, tell us in person, contact us
On 01786 404040 or email us at corporatecomplaints@stirling.gov.uk