The Social Services Complaints Procedure (Wales) Regulations 2005

PART IISETTING UP THE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Duty to establish a complaints procedure

4.  Each local authority must make arrangements in accordance with these regulations for the handling and consideration of complaints and the arrangements must be in writing.

Senior Officer responsible for complaints

5.  Each local authority must designate a senior officer to be responsible for seeking to ensure compliance with the arrangements made by the local authority under these Regulations.

Complaints officer

6.—(1) Each local authority must appoint a person, in these Regulations referred to as a complaints officer, to manage the procedures for handling and considering complaints and in particular—

(a)to perform the functions of the complaints officer under these Regulations;

(b)to perform such other functions in relation to complaints as the local authority may require; and

(c)to co-operate with such other persons or bodies as may be necessary in order to investigate or resolve complaints.

(2) The functions of the complaints officer may be performed by any person authorised by the local authority to act on behalf of the complaints officer.

(3) A complaints officer may be—

(a)a person who is not an employee of the local authority; and

(b)appointed as complaints officer for more than one body.

Publicity

7.—(1) Each local authority must ensure that there is effective publicity of its complaints arrangements.

(2) Each local authority must take all reasonable steps to ensure that service users and their carers, if any, are informed of its arrangements, the name of its complaints officer and the address at which the complaints officer can be contacted.

(3) A copy of the arrangements made under regulation 3 must be given, free of charge, to any person who makes a request for one.

(4) Each local authority must take all reasonable steps to provide a copy of its arrangements in any form requested by the service user or other person making a complaint on the service user’s behalf.

Information and training for staff

8.  Each local authority must ensure that their staff are informed about and appropriately trained in the operation of the complaints procedure.