Comments and Complaints Policy

Oxfordshire County Council comments and complaints policy

Executive summary and introduction

Oxfordshire County Council is committed to providing high-quality services and ensuring residents can easily tell us when things go well and when they do not. Listening to compliments, comments and complaints helps us improve services and supports our ambition to deliver a greener, fairer and healthier Oxfordshire, as set out in the Strategic Plan (2025-28).

This policy sets out how Oxfordshire County Council handles complaints in a clear, consistent, fair and timely manner. It applies to all council services, except where separate statutory processes are required, as with Children’s Services and Adult Social Care. For all other areas, we follow a single corporate approach aligned with the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) Complaint Handling Code and incorporating the legal requirements for data protection complaints.

Complaints provide valuable insight into where services are not working as intended, helping us identify issues, learn from them and make meaningful improvements

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of service, action or lack of action by Oxfordshire County Council or someone acting on our behalf, requiring a response. A service request is a first-time report of an issue or request for a service (for example, reporting a pothole or broken streetlight). Separating service requests from complaints ensures we respond appropriately and maintain clear expectations for residents.

By listening to residents and learning from their experiences, the complaints process helps us improve accessibility, strengthen fairness, support wellbeing, and work more efficiently. This contributes directly to the Council’s wider goals and ensures every resident’s voice helps shape better services for Oxfordshire.

Purpose and scope

The purpose of this policy is to set out how Oxfordshire County Council manages complaints in line with the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) Complaint Handling Code. It ensures complaints are handled in a fair, consistent, timely and customer-focused way, and that learning from complaints is used to improve services.

Scope

This policy applies to all council services except where a separate statutory or regulatory process must be followed, including:

• Children’s Social Care
• Adult Social Care
• Schools
• Member conduct, HR, insurance
• Data protection and Subject Access Requests / Freedom of Information / Environmental Information Regulations.

It covers:

• complaints about the standard of service, actions or decisions
• complaints about failure to provide a service
• complaints about people acting on behalf of the council

It does not cover:

• service requests or first-time reports of issues
• appeals relating to formal decisions where a statutory appeal route exist

Our principles

When managing your complaint, we will follow these principles:

Accessibility

This policy will be well-publicised and easy to access for everyone. We aim to ensure it is straightforward and clearly understood by both the public and council staff. The Customer Feedback Team will provide clarification, support or reasonable adjustments whenever needed.

Communication

We will communicate with you in line with your preferences and keep you informed about what to expect at each stage of the complaints process, including when you will receive a response.

Timeliness

We aim to respond to your complaint within the required timescales. If exceptional circumstances mean we cannot meet these timescales, we will contact you to explain why and agree a revised response date.

Fairness

We will handle your complaint in a proportionate, open-minded and impartial way. We will listen to your concerns, understand what you want to happen, and take appropriate steps to establish what occurred. Our focus will be on finding a fair and suitable resolution.

Credibility

Complaints and the learning from them will be taken seriously across the council, including at senior leadership level. Officers will be supported to review complaints robustly so that service improvements can be identified and implemented.

Accountability

We will manage complaint information responsibly and ensure actions arising from complaints are monitored, completed and recorded. This helps us demonstrate transparency, improvement and good governance. Information about complaint volumes, outcomes and performance will be regularly, and appropriately, reported and the complaints policy and process will be subject to periodic review.

Artificial intelligence (AI) in complaints handling

The Council recognises that some complainants may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to help draft or structure their complaints. We are committed to ensuring our complaints process remains accessible, fair, and effective for all.

• Accessibility: We welcome complaints in any format, including those written or assisted by AI, as part of our commitment to inclusion and accessibility.
• Clarity and relevance: Complainants are encouraged to ensure their submission accurately reflects their own experience and concerns. If a complaint appears to contain unnecessary complexity or irrelevant information such as legal references or content not directly related to the issue we may contact the complainant to clarify the main points or request a simplified version.
• Fairness and impartiality: All complaints, regardless of how they are written, will be considered on their merits. Our focus will always be on understanding the substance of the complaint and seeking a fair resolution.
• Communication: We will communicate with complainants in a clear and accessible way, explaining any requests for clarification and keeping them informed about the progress of their complaint.
• Use of AI in administration: The Council uses AI tools to support administrative aspects of the complaints process, such as logging, categorising, and assisting with routine correspondence. These tools help us to work efficiently and ensure that complaints are managed promptly and accurately.

However, all decisions regarding the handling, investigation, and resolution of complaints are made by staff. Human judgement, empathy, and accountability remain at the heart of our complaints process. AI is never used to make decisions about the outcome of a complaint, nor to replace the personal contact and understanding required for effective complaint handling. All communications with complainants, including responses and explanations, are written or approved by staff members.

• Continuous review: We regularly review our use of AI to ensure it supports, rather than replaces, the person-centred approach required by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) Complaint Handling Code. This approach will be reviewed regularly to ensure it remains effective and responsive to changes in technology and customer needs.

What is and is not covered by this policy

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of service, action or lack of action by Oxfordshire County Council, or by someone delivering services on our behalf, which requires a response.

Customers may complain if they believe something has gone wrong or they have not been treated fairly. We will consider all complaints that fall within the scope of this policy.

Examples of complaints include dissatisfaction about:

• the quality or standard of a service
• how we have responded to a request for service
• a decision we have made
• the behaviour of a member of staff
• unfair treatment, discrimination or bias

What is not a complaint

Some issues fall outside this policy and will not be treated as complaints. These include:

Service requests

A service request may be defined as: a request that the organisation provides or improves a service, fixes a problem or reconsiders a decision

If a customer expresses dissatisfaction with how a service request has been handled, the time taken, or the outcome, this will be treated as a complaint under this policy.

Matters with separate legal or statutory processes

• Children’s Social Care complaints
• Adult Social Care complaints
• School complaints; Complaints about schools | Oxfordshire County Council
• Appeals or legal rights (e.g. planning, school admissions)

Complaints about people or organisations outside our control

• Complaints about academies, health providers, district councils, or other organisations
• Complaints about councillors - handled by the Monitoring Officer standards.monitoringofficer@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Employment and staff matters

Recruitment issues, staff disciplinary or grievance matters (handled through HR procedures) We will not share outcomes of HR processes, but we will confirm when our internal processes are complete.

Insurance and liability

Claims for damage or injury - these are handled by the Insurance Team

Safeguarding concerns

These must follow safeguarding procedures, not the complaints process.

Policy decisions

Disagreement with council policies or budget decisions set by elected Members.

Complaints we cannot re-investigate

• Complaints that have exhausted our complaints process
• Repeated complaints about the same issue (may be managed under the Unreasonable Behaviour Policy)

Historic complaints

Issues more than 12 months old, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Child protection conference (ICPC) complaints

Complaints about Child Protection Conferences, including concerns about the conduct of the Independent Chair or the way the conference was managed, do not follow the corporate complaints process. These complaints follow a separate procedure.

See Appendix C for full details of what is and is not covered by this procedure.

Data protection complaints

Concerns about data processing or data subject rights are handled in line with the data protection legislation, in particular the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and aligned with the corporate complaints process.

Where you raise a specific concern about your personal data or data protection rights, we will refer it to the relevant service and our Information Services to investigate and to take any necessary action. The service will contact you directly with the outcome.

Where you raise a concern about data processing as part of a wider complaint, we will refer it to the relevant service and our Information Services to ensure it is addressed appropriately within the overall response.

See Appendix D for full details of the Data Protection complaints process.

How to give feedback or complain

Many concerns can be resolved quickly through informal discussion with the relevant service, and we encourage customers to consider this before making a formal complaint. Where appropriate, the Customer Feedback Team may assess that your concern could be resolved informally and may explore this option with you first.

If informal resolution is not suitable or does not address the issue, you can make a formal complaint. You may raise a concern with any member of staff you are in contact with, and they will ensure it is directed to the correct team.

The quickest and easiest way to provide us with feedback is using our online form: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/feedback

Telephone: 01865 519800

By email: commentsandcomplaints@oxfordshire.gov.uk

In writing: Customer Feedback Team
Oxfordshire County Council Freepost RRYR-XTBE-GBTZ
County Hall,
New Road,
Oxford, OX1 1ND

Any Oxfordshire County Council staff member can receive your complaint and pass it to the Customer Feedback Team.

All complaints received to the councils Customer Feedback Team will be logged on to the complaints recording system. Details of your complaint will be held securely and will be shared with the relevant team managers to investigate and respond to your complaint.

We will make reasonable adjustments to meet your accessibility needs, including providing information in alternative formats and supporting you to make a complaint.

How we handle complaints

Complaints involving more than one service

Where a complaint relates to more than one council service, we will coordinate our response to make the process as straightforward as possible. The service responsible for the main part of the complaint will lead the investigation and work with other services as needed.

If you submit several complaints at the same time, or in close succession, we will review them to decide whether it is more appropriate to manage them together. Where the issues are connected or can be more effectively addressed through one coordinated investigation, we may provide a single, combined response.

If the issues are unrelated or require different processes (for example, if one is a service request or falls under a statutory procedure), we will explain clearly how each matter will be handled.

Wherever possible, we will provide you with a single, comprehensive response.

Our complaints processes

When we receive your complaint, the Customer Feedback Team will review the issues you have raised. We will consider whether a full investigation is required or whether your concerns can be resolved quickly and informally. If we believe your issue can be resolved promptly, we may contact you directly to discuss this.

If the matter cannot be resolved informally, your complaint will be managed through our two-stage corporate complaints process, described below.

Complaints relating to social care follow statutory processes set by central government. As a result, the stages and timescales for handling them may differ depending on the type of complaint. Further information about these statutory processes is provided later in this policy.

The principles outlined in Section 3 of this policy apply to all complaints, including those handled under statutory procedures.

The corporate complaints process

Stage one (initial review)

When you make a complaint, we will:

• Acknowledge your complaint in writing within 5 working days. If anything is unclear, we will contact you to make sure we fully understand your concerns.
• Investigate your complaint and aim to provide a fair and full response within 10 working days of acknowledgement. This response will usually come from an appropriate manager from the service you have complained about. If the investigation takes longer, we will let you know and agree a revised timescale.
• Explain the outcome of your complaint, including whether it is upheld, partially upheld or not upheld, and what action we will take to put things right.
• Explain your next steps if you remain dissatisfied.

Stage two (further review)

If you are dissatisfied with the Stage One response, you may request a Stage Two review. When you do, we will:

• Acknowledge your request within 5 working days.
• Review your complaint and aim to provide a full and fair response within 20 working days of acknowledgement. This response will usually come from a senior manager who has not previously been involved. If more time is needed, we will keep you informed.

There is no further right of appeal within the council after Stage Two.

If you remain dissatisfied with the council’s final response, you may refer your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO):

Website: www.lgo.org.uk/making-a-complaint Telephone: 0300 061 0614 Address: PO Box 4771, Coventry, CV4 0EH

Multiple or repeat complaints: If we receive multiple complaints about the same issue, we may consider them together as a single complaint, where this is fair and appropriate.

Repeat or vexatious use of the complaints process may be managed under our Unreasonable Customer Behaviour Policy.

Most complaints will be resolved through this two-stage process.

Our approach to remedies

Objective: Our aim is to provide a fair and proportionate remedy where our investigation finds that fault by the council has caused you personal injustice. There must be a clear link between any fault identified and the impact it has had on you. We will also look at the root causes of the problem and consider improvements to systems or processes to prevent the issue from happening again.

Guidance: Our approach to remedies is guided by the best practice principles set out by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).

Remedies: Remedies are considered on a case-by-case basis and will reflect the nature of the fault and the impact on you. Possible remedies may include:

• A meaningful apology
• Providing an explanation or further information
• Practical actions to put things right
• Reviewing or changing policies or procedures
• Steps to prevent the issue happening again
• Considering financial loss or other quantifiable impacts where appropriate

Our aim is to put you back in the position you would have been in had the fault not occurred, wherever this is possible.

Help with having your say

Support with making your complaint

We want everyone to feel able to raise a concern or make a complaint. Under the Equality Act 2010, Oxfordshire County Council has a duty to make reasonable adjustments so that people who have difficulty using our complaints procedure can still access it fairly. If you need support at any stage of the process, please tell us and we will work with you to meet your needs.

You can ask someone to help you make your complaint. This could be a family member, friend, carer, or anyone you choose to represent you. We may ask for your permission before speaking to them on your behalf.

You also have the right to independent advocacy. An advocate is an independent person who does not work for the council. They can help you understand your rights, express your views and ensure your voice is heard throughout the complaints process. If you need an advocate, we can help you find one.

What is an advocate?

Advocates are independent, trained professionals who will:

• listen to what you want
• support you to express your views
• help you understand the process and your rights
• speak on your behalf if you would like them to

Children and young people

Community Connex Telephone: 01865 597316 Email: advocacy@communityconnex.co.uk

Adults

VoiceAbility Telephone: 0300 303 1660 Email: helpline@voiceability.org

If you are unsure what support you need, or how to get started, our Customer Feedback Team will be happy to help.

Local government and social care ombudsman (LGSCO)

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) is the final stage for complaints about local authorities, adult social care providers and some other organisations delivering public services. The LGSCO provides a free, independent and impartial service.

You may contact the LGSCO at any time for advice; however, they will normally expect you to complete the council’s complaints process before they will investigate.

Website: www.lgo.org.uk Address: PO Box 4471, Coventry, CV4 0EH Telephone: 0300 061 0614

Managing unreasonable customer behaviour

We are committed to treating everyone with respect and courtesy, and to dealing with complaints fairly and impartially. We expect our staff to be treated with the same respect.

Most customers communicate with us reasonably, even when they are upset or dissatisfied. However, in a small number of cases, a person’s behaviour can become unreasonable and may negatively affect our ability to respond to their complaint or provide services to others.

Examples include excessively repetitive contact, unreasonable demands, abusive language, or behaviour that causes distress or risk to staff.

In such situations, the council may take proportionate action under our Management of Unreasonable Customer Behaviour Policy. This may include restrictions on how a customer can contact the council. Decisions will be made by the Customer Feedback Team in consultation with relevant services and, where appropriate, Health and Safety.

Where behaviour poses an immediate risk to the safety or welfare of staff or others, the council may take appropriate action without prior notice, including contact with the police.

The council has a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination on the grounds of age, race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion or belief, marriage or civil partnership, or pregnancy and maternity. Where discriminatory behaviour occurs, action may be taken in line with the policy, and individuals will be informed of their right to appeal.

Comments, compliments and learning from complaints

A. Comments

A comment is any feedback provided to the council following contact with one of our services. Comments may include suggestions for improvement or observations about how well a service has been delivered. Comments help us to understand residents’ experiences and shape services, so they are fair, accessible, and responsive, supporting the ambition in our Strategic Plan to improve outcomes for all communities.

B. Compliments

A compliment is an expression of thanks or praise for the council or a member of staff. This may include situations where the support provided exceeded expectations or made a positive difference to a resident’s experience. Once received, compliments are recorded on our central system and shared with the relevant team and manager. They are also highlighted with our Senior Leadership Team to recognise good practice and identify what works well. Compliments form part of our wider approach to learning from feedback, celebrating excellent service, and developing a culture that supports a fairer and healthier Oxfordshire.

C. Learning from complaints

Complaints provide valuable insight and are a key source of organisational learning. In line with the LGSCO Complaint Handling Code, we view complaints as an opportunity to improve our services, strengthen accountability, and ensure we respond fairly and effectively.

We record all compliments, comments, complaints and informal complaints. We share learning with senior managers across the council, track the actions taken in response, and ensure learning is built into service delivery plans and wider transformation programmes—including those within our Strategic Plan, such as improving SEND provision, strengthening early help, and supporting local communities.

We are committed to being a learning organisation. Feedback from complaints helps us design services that are fairer, more accessible, and better able to support the wellbeing of residents.

Actions and key learning points are regularly discussed at Senior Leadership Team meetings to ensure accountability and continuous improvement.

Annual reporting

At the end of each financial year, we publish an annual report summarising customer feedback, including trends, themes and improvements made as a result of comments, compliments and complaints.

This report is reviewed and approved by senior officers and published on our website, ensuring openness, transparency, and demonstrating to residents how their voices drive improvement.

The council undertakes an annual self-assessment against the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) Complaint Handling Code. This helps us assure compliance, identify areas for improvement, and strengthen our complaint handling culture.

Appendix A - children’s social care: statutory complaints procedure (Children Act 1989)

A1. Purpose

This appendix explains how Oxfordshire County Council handles children’s social care complaints under the statutory Children Act complaints procedure. This procedure has its own stages and timescales set out in national regulations and guidance, and it is different from the council’s corporate two-stage process

A2. What this procedure covers

Complaints about the council’s functions relating to (for example):

• Children in need and children in care (looked-after children)
• Care leavers
• Fostering and fostering support
• Adoption support
• Special guardianship support
• Other children’s social care functions specified in the Children Act 1989 and related legislation

These areas are covered by the Children Act 1989 Representations Procedure (England) Regulations 2006 and the DfE statutory guidance Getting the Best from Complaints (2006).

A3. Who can complain

• Children and young people receiving (or who have received) services
• Parents / those with parental responsibility
• Foster carers, adopters, special guardians
• Any person with sufficient interest, including someone acting on behalf of a child/young person (with consent where required)
• Advocates may act for children and young people (see A5)

A4. What this procedure does not cover (exclusions)

This statutory procedure does not deal with:

• Court matters (including Section 7 or 37 reports in private law proceedings) If there are ongoing court or police proceedings, some issues may need to be deferred so the complaint does not prejudice those processes. We will explain what is deferred and why, and progress other elements where possible.
• General child protection/safeguarding investigations
• Complaints solely about schools (governing body process applies)
• ICPC/Child Protection Conference complaint routes (separate procedure via the Safeguarding & Reviewing Service; conference decisions cannot be changed by this complaints process and stand until reviewed)

See the council’s ICPC/Conference Complaints appendix C for details.

A5. How the 3-stage statutory process works

Stage 1 - local resolution

An appropriate manager within the service you are complaining about will look into your concerns and provide a written response within 10 working days (this may be extended to 20 working days for complex matters).

If you are unhappy with the response, you can contact the Customer Feedback Team within 20 working days of receiving your Stage 1 outcome and request progression to Stage 2.

You do not need to justify your escalation request, but you may tell us what you remain unhappy about or what you would like to see happen. We will always aim to resolve concerns at Stage 1 wherever possible, in line with the statutory guidance.

Stage 2 - independent investigation

If your complaint cannot be resolved at Stage 1, we will progress it to a full Stage 2 statutory investigation.

By asking for your complaint to progress to Stage 2, you are agreeing that we can share the information necessary for the investigation with the appointed Investigating Officer and Independent Person. A Stage 2 investigation cannot begin without sharing this information, and this ensures the process can start without delay.

We will appoint:

• an Independent Investigating Officer (IO) to investigate your complaint, and
• an Independent Person (IP) to oversee the fairness, openness and transparency of the investigation.

The Investigating Officer will interview relevant staff, review records, and produce a written report with findings and recommendations. A senior social care manager, known as the Adjudicating Officer, will then consider the report and write to you with their decision.

A response should be provided within 25 working days. For complex cases, this may be extended to a maximum of 65 working days. We will let you know if an extension is required.

Stage 3 - review panel

If you remain dissatisfied after Stage 2, you can request that a Review Panel considers your complaint. You should do this within 20 working days of receiving your Stage 2 response.

A Review Panel consists of three independent people who have had no prior involvement in your complaint. Their role is to consider whether the Stage 2 investigation was thorough, fair and properly responded to.

The Review Panel meeting will be held within 30 working days of your request. You, the Investigating Officer, and relevant staff may be invited to attend.

The Panel will issue its report and recommendations within 5 working days of the hearing. The report goes to the Director of Children’s Social Care, and a copy will also be sent to you.

The Director will consider the recommendations and write to you within 15 working days, confirming the final outcome and any learning or improvements being put in place.

A6. Escalation to the ombudsman

If you remain dissatisfied after Stage 3, you can ask the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) to consider your complaint. The LGSCO is free, independent and impartial, and is the final stage for children’s social care complaints. (Contact details are set out in the main policy.)

A7. Accessibility and reasonable adjustments

We will make reasonable adjustments to ensure children, young people, parents and carers can access this process. This may include alternative formats, interpreters or BSL, advocacy support, or other adjustments based on your needs, in line with statutory guidance.

Appendix B: adult social care - statutory complaints procedure (2009 Regulations)

B1. Purpose

This appendix explains how Oxfordshire County Council handles adult social care complaints under the Local Authority Social Services and NHS Complaints (England) Regulations 2009. Adult social care complaints use one statutory local-resolution stage with an agreed plan and timescale, rather than the council’s corporate two-stage process.

B2. Scope

This procedure covers complaints about the council’s adult social care functions, including (for example): assessments, eligibility decisions, care planning, reviews, direct payments, charging and financial assessments, and commissioned care services that the council has arranged.

Care provider complaints: If the council commissions your care, you can complain to the provider and/or to the council. The council remains responsible for ensuring your complaint is handled appropriately.

B3. Who can complain

• The person receiving care.
• A representative, where the person has given consent, lacks capacity, or has died.
• Others affected by the council’s actions in delivering adult social care.

B4. Time limit for making a complaint

Complaints should normally be made within 12 months of the issue or of becoming aware of it. The council can use discretion to consider older complaints where it is still possible to investigate fairly.

B5. One statutory stage: local resolution (planned, person-centred)

Adult social care complaints are handled through a single, flexible local-resolution stage:

1. Acknowledgement & planning: We will acknowledge your complaint and agree with you:
   • the issues to be investigated,
   • the outcomes you are seeking
2. Investigation & response: We investigate proportionately and respond as soon as reasonably practicable within the agreed timescale, explaining:
   • what we found (upheld/partly/not upheld) and why,
   • any remedy (see B9), and
   • what we have learned or changed.

If you want to challenge our response

Adult social care complaints follow a single statutory stage under the Local Authority Social Services and NHS Complaints (England) Regulations 2009. This means there is no formal second stage or internal appeal. However, if you remain dissatisfied after receiving our response, you can tell us why and we will:

1. Offer further clarification - We can explain what was investigated, the evidence considered, and how we reached our conclusions and remedy.
2. Consider any new or material information - If you provide new evidence or identify something significant that was not available before, we may make further enquiries before confirming our final position.
3. Confirm the council’s final position in writing - We will write to you to confirm whether our findings remain the same or have changed, and whether any additional remedy or action will be taken. This letter will make clear that the adult social care statutory process is complete and explain your right to contact the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) if you remain dissatisfied.

B5. Joint complaints with the NHS

Where your concerns involve both adult social care and NHS services, organisations have a duty to co-operate and should provide a single, coordinated response wherever possible (for example, a joint investigation).

B6. What this procedure does not cover (exclusions)

The 2009 Regulations set out certain exclusions, including:

• Matters already decided by a court,
• Personnel/disciplinary issues,
• Complaints that have been or are being handled under other legal appeal routes,
• Complaints made more than 12 months ago

Adult safeguarding: Where a safeguarding concern is raised, safeguarding procedures may take precedence. We will explain what can be considered now and what may be paused until safeguarding processes conclude.

B7. Accessibility, adjustments and advocacy

We will make reasonable adjustments so you can use the complaints process (alternative formats, interpreters/BSL, accessible meetings). You may use independent advocacy, and we will explain available support.

B8. If you remain dissatisfied

If you are dissatisfied after receiving the council’s final response under this statutory procedure, you may contact the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), who is free, independent and impartial and is the final stage for adult social care complaints about councils and care providers.

Appendix C - child protection conference (ICPC) complaints

C1. Areas covered by the child protection conference (ICPC) complaints procedure

You can complain about:

• The process, conduct or administration of the conference.
• Compliance with Oxfordshire child protection procedures and multi-agency protocols.
• The exclusion of any person from the conference.
• The outcome as a matter of process, i.e. the process followed to reach the decision that a child should be (or remain) subject to a child protection plan and/or the category of significant harm recorded.

Important: This complaints route cannot itself change a conference decision. The decision stands until a reconvened or review conference considers updated information.

C2. Exclusions from this complaints procedure

Examples that are not handled under the ICPC complaints procedure:

• A concern that the social worker’s report was not shared with parents in good time before the conference (this relates to pre-conference practice).
• A concern that the Chair’s behaviour was rude in a pre-conference meeting (this relates to pre-conference practice).

Such issues should be raised via the Corporate complaints process or the relevant agency’s complaints process where it is a single-agency matter.

Where a single-agency decision, conduct or action is being challenged, the respective agency’s complaints procedure should be followed.

Annex D: data protection complaints

Introduction

Oxfordshire County Council (‘we’ or ‘us’) is committed to protecting personal information and handling data lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely.

You have the right to complain to us if you are dissatisfied with how we have handled your personal information or data protection rights. This policy sets out the Council’s formal data protection complaints process, following the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance.

The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 provides a statutory right for individuals to complain directly to an organisation regarding their data protection rights. This right, set out in section 164A of the Data Protection Act 2018, requires individuals to lodge a complaint with the organisation and engage the organisation’s own mechanisms for transparency and explanation before escalating the complaint to the ICO. It requires the organisation to acknowledge the complaint within 30 days and respond to the complaint without undue delay.

What this covers

You can raise a concern following the process set out below if you believe we have infringed your data protection rights because of the way we have handled your personal information (or the personal information of someone you are acting on behalf of). This may include:

• the way we have responded to your data subject rights request;
• the security measures we have applied to your personal information (e.g. a personal data breach, regardless of whether it meets the threshold to report to the ICO); or
• how we have collected or used your personal information (e.g. storage, retention or accuracy).

How to raise a concern

You can raise a data protection complaint through the Council’s usual contact channels, including online, by email, by telephone, in person or in writing.

If you raise your concern via social media, we will ask you for an alternative contact method to validate you, exchange any confidential information and respond.

If you raise your concern via telephone, we may be able to address your concern by telephone, but we may ask you for an alternative contact method to validate you and respond. Where call recording is used (e.g. Customer Services), the recording is used for transcription and quality monitoring only and then deleted. We will provide a transcript of the call to you.

Providing evidence and ID

We may need evidence or supporting information from you to investigate your concern (e.g. a copy of an affected email or document). When submitting evidence, please ensure that:

• you take care not to compound an infringement or impact other people’s personal information when you send your complaint to us;
• any attachments, images or screenshots help us locate the issue (e.g. don’t send a screenshot of an error in a form or email without showing us the form itself or the email header showing how it came to you).

We may require proof of ID. Where you complain on behalf of others, we may require proof of authority to do so. Please see our guidance on acceptable proofs: Request or amend your personal information | Oxfordshire County Council

How we will handle your complaint

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 30 calendar days of receiving it. The 30 days start the day after we receive your complaint, regardless of whether this falls on a weekend or public holiday. If the last day to acknowledge your complaint falls on a weekend or public holiday, we have until the next working day to provide an acknowledgement.

All formal complaints received will be logged and assessed to determine the most appropriate route for handling, including making appropriate enquiries with services, officers, caseworkers and third parties where necessary.

Complaints are referred to the relevant service and to our Information Services. Responsibility for investigating and responding is with the relevant service, to address your concerns and improve their data processing, data quality and service standards. Oversight and specialist advice is provided by Information Services.

Where an infringement of your data protection rights is identified, this will be managed by Information Services in line with the Council’s statutory obligations under the data protection legislation, including assessment of risks and impacts, internal escalation, and consideration of notification requirements to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and to affected data subjects.

Where your concern includes dissatisfaction with the standard of service or actions taken, this element will be considered and responded to by the relevant service in line with the Council’s corporate complaints arrangements.

How we will provide our response

The relevant service will respond directly to you once their review is completed with Information Services.

This response will explain:

• what has been reviewed;
• whether a data processing error or data protection rights infringement has been identified;
• what actions have been taken to mitigate the issue;
• any steps taken to improve processes or prevent recurrence.

Response without undue delay

Response times will depend on the nature and complexity of the concern, particularly where a data security assessment or infringement investigation is required.

We may be able to investigate your complaint and provide an outcome within the 30 days acknowledgement period. In these instances, we may provide acknowledgement and outcome together.

Where it takes longer to investigate your complaint, we will provide acknowledgement within the 30 days and provide response and outcome without undue delay after the 30 days acknowledgement period.

We will keep you informed of progress and outcome, including whether we have reported the issue to the Information Commissioner’s Office, and connecting you to other organisations or data controllers where the issue is with them. Where we share data or collaborate jointly with other organisations, we will ensure that issues and impacts are jointly resolved and outcomes are communicated.

Where concerns overlap with other processes

In some cases, a concern about data protection may form part of a wider issue or complaint. Where this happens, each element will be considered under the appropriate process to ensure it is handled correctly. This may include statutory complaints procedures or other formal processes where applicable.

Your rights

Where you are not satisfied with a data protection complaint response you have further recourse to the Council’s Data Protection Officer to review your concerns.

We follow the Information Commissioner’s guidance in handling data protection complaints: How to deal with data protection complaints | ICO

If you remain dissatisfied with how your concern has been handled, you have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office. You can find more information about making a complaint with the ICO: Check if you can complain | ICO

For the Council’s corporate privacy notice or service privacy notices see: Privacy notice | Oxfordshire County Council