About the Scottish Parliament

How we deal with complaints

We have 2 stages for dealing with complaints.

Stage 1: Frontline response

This is for complaints that can be dealt with quickly by staff in the area concerned. These complaints may be resolved on the spot or we will respond within 5 working days.

If you are dissatisfied with our response, you can ask us to consider your complaint at stage 2.

Stage 2: Investigation

This is for complaints that need to be investigated by senior staff. This might be because:

you were not satisfied with our response to your complaint at stage 1
we have immediately identified the issue as complex and needing investigation.

We will:

acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days
confirm with you what we will investigate and what you want to achieve
give you our decision within 20 working days unless there is clearly a good reason for needing more time.

External review

If you are dissatisfied with our final decision or the way we have handled your complaint, you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to consider it. We will tell you how to do this when we send you our final decision.

More information about making a complaint and about how we deal with complaints is available in our Complaints Guide and in our Complaints Handling Procedure documents.