Complaints about a service

Request complaint numbers, outcomes, and response times for a specific service.

Public bodies must record and respond to complaints under the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’s model complaints handling procedure. Complaint data shows where services are falling short.

Dear [AUTHORITY NAME], Please provide the following information about complaints relating to [SERVICE e.g. housing repairs, waste collection, GP practice] in [FINANCIAL YEAR e.g. 2024-25]: 1. The total number of complaints received. 2. How many were upheld, partially upheld, and not upheld. 3. The average time taken to respond at each stage of the complaints process (frontline resolution and investigation). I would prefer to receive this by email. Yours faithfully, [YOUR NAME]
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Who to send it to#

Any Scottish public authority. Find the right authority on the Commissioner’s directory of Scottish public authorities. You can also send your request through WhatDoTheyKnow, which publishes responses online.

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Tips#

  • Name a specific service rather than asking for all complaints across the authority. This keeps the request focused and within the cost limit.
  • The two-stage complaints process (frontline resolution and investigation) has different target timescales, so asking for both stages is reasonable.
  • If complaint numbers are high, you can follow up with a request for the themes or categories the complaints fall into.