We do our best to follow the seven principles of public life set out above. These are sometimes referred to as the ‘Nolan principles’. Based on these, we make the following commitments.

How we will treat you

We will treat you politely and professionally. 
We will treat you and the information you give us with dignity and respect in line with the ‘Nolan principles.’

Our contact with you

We will use plain language and avoid jargon where possible. If we need to use legal or technical terms we will explain these to you. We will explain how we handle complaints
and give you clear reasons for our decisions.

How long we will take

We publish timescales so you know how long it is likely to take for us to deal with your complaint. Complicated cases may take longer. If we think we need more time, we will let you know and keep updating you with our progress.We will always try to deal with complaints in a reasonable amount of time.

Meeting your needs

We aim to meet the needs of everyone. We can provide information in different languages and formats (such as large print or Braille) if you ask. Our office is accessible to wheelchairs and we have an induction loop and instant access to phone interpretation (if you need to speak to us in a language other than English). If you have any special needs, please let us know on your complaint form, in person or by phone.

What we expect from you

We want to deal with the people who use our service professionally, with respect and in line with our service standards. We also expect you to treat our staff and the service we provide with respect. Our ‘Unacceptable Actions Policy’ explains how we manage unacceptable behaviour against our staff. To ask for a copy of this document call 0800 377 7330 or click here to read it online, Unacceptable Actions Policy.

We know that in any organisation, things can sometimes go wrong.  Please tell us if this happens, so that we can put things right and learn from any mistakes.  We would like to hear from you if you are not satisfied with any part of our service, please read the section about how to complain about our service.

We know that we can’t please everyone all of the time – and our decisions can disappoint those who don’t get the outcome they had hoped for.  The grounds on which to ask us to review our decision on your case are limited.   We explain on what grounds we might accept a request for a review of our decision in the section called asking for a review of an SPSO decision.

Last updated 1 February 2011.