The Complaints and Data Protection team has a Service Level Agreement with Children’s Services and Adult Social Care to manage complaints and representations under the relevant statutory & Council’s procedures.
Complaints & Data Protection – Children’s Services & Adult Social Care
Who are we and what do we do?
The Complaints and Data Protection team has a Service Level Agreement with Children’s Services and Adult Social Care to manage complaints and representations under the relevant statutory & Council’s procedures.
The team also manages the process for logging and responding to MP and Councillor enquiries in Children’s Services and Adult Social Care and handles all data protection, Subject Access Requests and Information Sharing Requests from agencies including the police and professional bodies.
Complaint handling
The Complaints and Representations procedure provides children and young people, vulnerable adults, families and carers with opportunities to tell the local authority about both their good and bad experiences of the service.
It is essential that the Local Authority can identify when mistakes have been made and put this right swiftly to a satisfactory level.
Appropriate and sensitive handling of complaints also gives the Local Authority a useful tool for identifying where services need to be improved.
To facilitate this, the Complaints and Data Protection team:
- Is the first point of contact for anyone wanting to make a complaint
- Records and monitors the complaint through to its conclusion
- Provides specialist advice to the service and quality assures responses to complainants
- Sets up and manages independent complaint investigations
- Sets up and manages necessary Review Panels
- Co-ordinates responses to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman;
- Monitors the local authority’s performance in handling complaints and that of any organisation that it has delegated its statutory function to.
Throughout the process the team will ensure:
- The complaints procedure is clear and easy to use
- People have access to appropriate services to support them with their complaint
- People are treated with dignity and respect and have their concerns taken seriously
- Concerns about the protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults are referred to the appropriate service or the police.
MP and Councillor enquiries
The Complaints and Data Protection team receives, records and allocates enquiries from MPs and Councillors to appropriate managers for a response.
The team will also coordinate responses across this process and the complaints process.
Data Protection
The team prepares social care records in accordance with data protection legislation for disclosure to current or past service users (Subject Access Requests).
It also prepares documents for disclosure to the police, regulatory and professional bodies undertaking investigations e.g criminal and ‘fitness to practice’.
It provides advice and guidance to staff who receive requests to share information and it works closely with the Information Governance team to ensure staff have appropriate written guidance and training.
The team also assists the Information Governance team with the recording and investigation of Data Breaches.
Other areas of work
Bath and North East Somerset Council manages a register of independent Complaint Investigators, Panel Chairs and Panel Members on behalf of 7 authorities within the South West.
The service is an active member of the South West Region & National Complaints Managers Groups.
The Team provides training on complaint handling and investigation and contributes to the Children’s Workforce induction programme.
Want to know more? The team to talk to is the Complaints & Data Protection Team (Childrens Services & Adult Social Care). Sarah Watts 01225 477913
