Draft Order to revise the procedures for complaints about social work

11 Riverside Drive
Dundee

The proposal streamlines and harmonises the approach to complaint handling with the approach taken across the bulk of the public sector in Scotland and introduces a level of independence to the process. We believe that the approach should be designed to support earlier conclusions for complaints involving local authority social work services.

We believe the SPSO can undertake such work and can become sufficiently experienced in such matters. It would be helpful to secure clarification around the implementation of the proposals and how the SPSO expects to exercise these responsibilities. It is essential that systems are in place which support a person-centred approach to complaints handling.

Given the SPSO role in relation to complaints about the health sector, the proposal is a logical extension of that role. As is highlighted in the consultation document it will be vital that the SPSO employs and has access to people with the appropriate experience and professional expertise to consider such situations.

We strongly welcome this proposal. Allowing the sharing of information will help ensure that there is both maximum learning and protection of people from harm.

The Care Inspectorate regulates some 14,000 care services, including many which are provided by, or commissioned by, a local authority. We register, inspect and investigate complaints about these services in order to provide public protection and assurance, and to support improvement in their delivery. We also apply strategic scrutiny to social services, including inspecting the organisation or co-ordination of any social services (such as a local authority social work function) but we do not directly investigate complaints about social work departments.

We envisage that this proposal will ensure that complaints which involve registered care services, as opposed to or as well as a local authority social work department, encountered during an investigation by the SPSO can be redirected without delay to the Care Inspectorate and with a more seamless service for the complainant.

In certain cases, the ability to share information might allow the Care Inspectorate and the SPSO to undertake concurrent investigations where the complainant’s experience relates both to the actions of a local authority social work department and a registered care service. This measure should improve accessibility to our complaints handling process and may avoid the need for duplication by those making complaints. We anticipate that there may be similar benefits for the Scottish Social Services Council.

We also believe that information or intelligence about registered care services which the SPSO has become aware of can be shared more generally for the purpose of regulating and supporting improvement in registered care services or for the strategic scrutiny of social services provision.

We look forward to working closely with the SPSO to consider how processes can be best put in place to give effect to the measures proposed, subject to Scottish parliamentary approval.

Independent advocacy for people wishing to make complaints can be important, to access to such services should be reviewed and considered to ensure they can support the new approach.