Frequently Asked Questions - How we decide cases

We sometimes receive multiple complaints about a council's decision to close a school or public facilities, or where members of a local community strongly oppose a planning application.  If we decide to investigate how such a decision was made, we're very likely to take one generally representative complaint, investigate that and let the other complainants know the outcome.

For an example of this, please see our decision summary about the closure of leisure facilities in South Ayrshire which is typical of this kind of complaint.

No - we treat each complaint on its own merits. And our Act does not allow us to accept petitions or other broad based community representations.

We take the view that a single complaint made by an individual carries just as much weight as a group of people making a complaint. So when we get a large number of complaints about a particular issue, such as building a school or the closure of public facilities, we don’t treat the subject matter any differently from when someone brings us a complaint that only affects them.

You can ask the Ombudsman to review the decision. How to do this, and what the review process covers are set out under our decision review page; the Ombudsman’s review is the final, independent stage of the public service complaints and whistleblowing processes, and once she has made a final decision there are no further stages.

In some situations, judicial review may be open to you. The judicial review process is a legal way to challenge the decisions of a public body in court. It is different to the SPSO’s internal review process. Time limits apply to the judicial review process which means you should act quickly if you are considering this. As judicial review is a legal process, the SPSO cannot advise you, so you may need to consider taking independent legal advice.

We will look at your complaint to see whether it can and should be investigated. See 'How we handle complaints' for more detailed information.

We use independent professional advisers when looking at some of our complaints. 

Our professional advisers provide us with independent advice on health matters, including specialist advisers in: medicine, midwifery, mental health, obstetrics and gynaecology, dentistry, nursing, psychiatry and GP services. There are also advisers who specialise in social work, planning, equalities, environmental health and water services.

Our advisers are experienced professionals with relevant and current expertise in their field of practice. They are all registered with their professional body or regulator and are selected on the basis of their knowledge and skills. Advisers receive induction and training for their role from us. and attend an annual seminar as part of their continuing professional development. The advice they provide is subject to quality assurance checks.

Most of our advisers are based in Scotland. The benefit of this is that they are fully aware of the Scottish context, which can be different from other parts of the UK. It also allows us to get advice directly and quickly.  In health cases, we also sometimes use the English Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s panel of clinical advisers, most usually where we don’t have an adviser with a particular specialism.

Advisers provide us with independent expert advice on what, in their professional judgement, it was reasonable to expect in the circumstances of a case. They explain technical terms and information and point us to relevant guidance and legislation. 

The Ombudsman (and her investigators acting on her authority) are responsible for making decisions about complaints.  We will take the advice we receive from our advisers into account along with all other relevant evidence and information.

We aim to close 95% of our cases within 12 months of receiving the complaint, however, we are currently experiencing delays to our service and this may affect the time taken to investigate your complaint.

It is difficult to predict how long an individual investigation will take, as each case is different.  Generally, they take longer where they are complex, involve a lot of written material, where we need to make detailed enquiries, or if we need to get professional advice.  We will contact you and the organisation regularly, to update you on progress.