Complaints, updated policy, new guidance and standardised handling procedure

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) has introduced revised Model Complaints Handling Procedures (MCHPs) for all sectors, including housing associations.  The SPSO’s responsibility is to set and monitor complaints handling standards for the public sector in Scotland. These standards are published as the Model Complaints Handling Procedures (MCHP) and define how the SPSO expect us to handle complaints quickly and simply, with local and early resolution by empowered and well trained staff. 

At PHA we value complaints and learn from the feedback we receive through dealing with complaints.  We have adopted the SPSO’s model complaints handling guide from March 2021.

The MCHP still follows the Stage 1, 5 day response, and Stage 2 investigation 20 day response.  The main emphasis is on valuing complaints – recording all complaints, reporting key information and using the lessons learned to improve service delivery.

In line with these changes we have:

·         Updated our Compliments, Comments and Complaints Policy (March 2021)

·         Introduced a new Unacceptable Actions Policy (March 2021)

·         Adopted the SPSO’s Customer Guide for more information on how we handle complaints, read our Customer Guide here

·         Complaint handlers completed training on the new MCHP in December 2020

·         Provided detailed information on the MCHP for all staff via our Intranet and included an information video from the SPSO

If you have any questions on the MCHP or require assistance with making a complaint please get in touch here.