SPSO role and function

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman has a wide remit covering a variety of functions and services. The Ombudsman's powers and duties come from the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002, which gives her four distinct statutory functions:

1. the final stage for complaints about most devolved public services in Scotland including councils, the health service, prisons, water and sewerage providers, Scottish Government, universities and colleges
2. specific powers and responsibilities to publish complaints handling procedures, and monitor and support best practice in complaints handling
3. independent review service for the Scottish Welfare Fund with the power to overturn and substitute decisions made by councils on Community Care and Crisis Grant applications
4. Independent National Whistleblowing Officer for the NHS in Scotland (INWO); the final stage for complaints about how the NHS considers whistleblowing concerns and the treatment of individuals concerned.

Who does what?

Leadership responsibility

• The Ombudsman has overall responsibility for the organisation, case decisions, actions under complaints handling powers, and is the accountable officer
• Our leadership team consists of the Ombudsman, Director and Head of Improvement, Standards and Engagement. They set the strategic direction of the organisation, and are responsible for governance, considering and approving policies and performance against strategic aims and objectives

Operational delivery by function

Corporate services

Led by the Director, supported by a Corporate Services Manager and a Human Resources Manager

• Finance
• Governance and risk management
• ICT support
• Quality Assurance, audit and casework reviews
• Human Resource Management and Learning & Development
• Information governance
• Facilities management
• Health and safety
• Professional Advice service (internal)

Public service complaint investigations

Three teams, led by Head of Investigations Public Service Complaints supported by three Team Managers

• Assessment and Guidance
• Public service complaints investigations

Scottish Welfare Fund review service

Led by Head of Investigations INWO & SWF and supported by a Team Manager

• Handling of Scottish Welfare Fund review applications
• Advice on Scottish Welfare Fund applications handling

Independent National Whistleblowing Officer

Led by Head of Investigations INWO & SWF and supported by a Team Manager

• Implementation support
• Independent National Whistleblowing Officer complaints handling
• Stakeholder engagement for implementation

Improvement, Standards and Engagement

Led by Head of ISE supported by an Engagement & Communications Team Manager

• Monitoring compliance with Model Complaints Handling Procedures
• Advice and guidance on complaint handling standards
• Policy and business development
• Communications and engagement
• Data and trends reporting and monitoring

First contact

• 4,776 callers (up 64% from last year)
• 71% of complaints made online

Our Assessment and Guidance team are the first point of contact for our public service complaints service users. They handle enquiries and complaints received through

• Our freephone advice line
• Email and online complaint forms
• Post

We are uniquely placed to learn from customers’ experiences of navigating complaint processes. We recognise how crucial it is that our customer service accommodates diverse needs and preferences. Throughout 2022—23, we completed a number of improvement activities that have had a positive impact on our first contact service and the efficiency of our team.

Contact by post

Whilst a large number of customers contact us online, we are mindful that some can be uncomfortable with or may not have access to technology and prefer to use a paper complaint form.

In response to this, we redesigned our paper complaint form so that it now includes a self-assessment checklist cover page. This allows complainants to establish if their complaint is ready for our office and encourages them to provide relevant supporting correspondence at the earliest opportunity. The checklist also signposts to advocacy agencies should a member of the public require assistance with their complaint.

We started to offer information about our powers in relation to potential outcomes complainants may be looking for. We aim to be open as early as possible about what exactly our office can and cannot do, allowing complainants to make an informed decision about whether our office is the right route for them.

We continue to provide a freepost address to ensure that there are no additional costs when opting to communicate by post.

Being mindful of the environmental impact of our service, we reviewed the paper we use for our complaint form. We have selected an alternative quality of paper which supports our biodiversity goals.

Contact by phone

During 2022—23, we offered advice to 4,776 callers. This is a significant increase on the 2,907 we received last year and reflects the high demand for our service and the need to signpost to other organisations.

We increased the opening hours of our freephone advice line and we now offer a call back service to anyone who calls us outside those opening times. The call back service has received positive feedback and is working effectively.

‘Thank you so much for phoning me back – it is a relief to speak to a real person. Thank you for your patience and for calling me back so quickly. I really appreciate your time and kindness. It has made me feel so much better’

We continue to build our knowledge of advocacy and support available for people making complaints. We have researched advocacy options available in prisons and can now direct prisoners to support available in HMP establishments.

Contact online

Our online complaint form continues to be the most popular way for people to access our complaints service. We regularly consider how our online complaint form can be improved and listen to customer feedback. As a result, we have streamlined and simplified the design and layout of the form. This work continues to increase the proportion of complaints made online.

• 2020—21 67% made online
• 2021—22 69% made online
• 2022—23 71% made online

In 2022—23, we completed research and design work for a new online form designed for complaints about health services. This form takes into account that health complaints can be particularly sensitive and that customers may have experienced trauma, in relation to the matter they are complaining about, and/ or in pursuing their complaint with the NHS. In particular, this form will assist customers to give us the detail and information needed to efficiently assess their complaint on first submission. This will reduce the requirement to return to customers for more information or to repeat events, which can be upsetting for some. The new form will be launched in 2023—24.

See our accessibility section for more information on our trauma informed approach.

Public service complaints overview

• 3,527 complaints received
• 64% of complaints about health and local authority

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• 50% reduction in allocation time to 5 months
• 192 closed after investigation

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• 3,637 closed after initial consideration
• 41% reduction in premature complaints

See our website for more information on how we handle complaints.

Public service complaint caseload

We monitor casework numbers closely throughout the year. This is important for our performance management and resource planning. We publish and share this information with the organisations we work with and other stakeholders to help support and improve complaints handling at a local level, and to reduce the numbers which escalate to us. We also use it to inform how we design our own systems and measure effectiveness.

Public service complaints received and carried forward

Case numbers received in 2022—23 reduced slightly in comparison to the previous year. The slight fall in cases received this year means that complaint numbers are at pre-pandemic levels.

The number of cases carried forward as a proportion of the total caseload for the year has reduced substantially this year, when compared with last. For the first time since 2019—20 the public services complaint caseload carried forward fell below 1,000 cases. This was largely as a result of

• a planned and structured approach to reducing unallocated and older cases as we emerged from the impact of the pandemic. We were successful in reducing both the number of unallocated cases and the time waiting for allocation by 50% (supported by additional temporary resources for our unallocated cases project).
• staff resources and capacity were less impacted from pandemic related matters this year and we successfully recruited new temporary fixed-term staff to support the work focusing on reducing the overall case numbers post lockdown.

Public service cases received by quarter

We originally tracked complaints received by quarter to assess whether the pandemic impacted on the pattern of complaints received. As the figures show, complaints received by quarter have not changed significantly over the three-year period suggesting the proportion of complaints per quarter was not impacted by the pandemic.

Cases received by quarter

Public service complaints received by sector

The breakdown of public service complaints by sector remains generally consistent with previous years. Once again, health is the highest subject of complaint followed by local authorities. Nearly two-thirds of cases received were about health and local authorities.

We did not see the high number of COVID-19 related cases we anticipated, but we continue to monitor this closely. In 2022—23 we received 37 cases which related directly or indirectly to COVID-19.

Public service complaints closed

Cases closed at assessment

Cases closed overall rose by a 9.7% following on from a 10% rise in 2021—22. This was despite the challenges faced this year as we came out of the pandemic and moved to different ways of working. It also reflects the impact of additional temporary staffing resources and changes to our processes to improve efficiency.

PSC cases closed after assessment

Similar to last year, there was an increase in cases closed after investigating at the assessment stage (we also refer to these as cases closed after initial enquiries). This is usually because it was determined that the organisation had already investigated and responded reasonably to the complaint. This reflects the positive impact of our work on good complaints handling across the Scottish public sector and in particular in the (generally) improving quality of local complaint handling. Through our investigations at this stage, we are able to assess whether or not a good local investigation has already identified learning and resulted in the action that we would have asked for in those circumstances.

This approach also reflects our continued focus on resolving complaints at as early a stage as possible.

PSC cases where we were unable to proceed

There was a significant reduction in cases where we were unable to proceed. This was usually because we asked for more information but the person did not respond.

Premature public service complaints

Following a 20% rise in premature public service complaints in 2021-22 there was a significant reduction in premature public service complaints this year. This reflects the work we have done during the year to develop our online complaint form (as mentioned in the first contact section of this report) as it provides complainants with greater assistance in assessing when their complaint is ready to be sent to us.

Achievement against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

There were challenges throughout the year impacting on our KPIs.

There were different challenges throughout the year impacting on our three performance measures.

• PI1, which measures timescales for providing advice, improved slightly on the previous year.
• PI2 and PI3 continued to be negatively impacted by the challenges presented by the legacy impact of the pandemic. Whilst productivity levels rose compared to 2020—21 and 2021—22, our focus on closing older cases carried over from the previous year resulted in a higher proportion of older cases being closed in 2022—23, and hence impacting on PI2 and PI3. This was an anticipated effect, with a small tail of older cases also being carried into 2023—24.
• We also experienced some delays in obtaining information from public bodies because of the impact of recovery from the pandemic on their capacity which in turn impacted on our timescales for determining cases.

Public service complaints assessment

Assessment outcomes

Details of the number of cases we assessed this year and the outcome of those cases, is set out below.

Assessment outcomes from public service complaints

Progressing public service complaint cases

It is important to us that we tell people as soon as we can what action we can and will take on a complaint. Complainants may already have spent time waiting for their case to complete the public body’s complaint process. Therefore we focus on assessing all new complaints as soon as they arrive.

We recognise that not all cases can be prioritised or determined quickly, and these cases are held until they can be allocated. We are always open and honest with complainants about our delays and waiting times (and we publish information about it on our website). We encourage complainants to tell us if they think their complaints should be given priority or their circumstances change.

Reducing our waiting times was a priority for 2022-23. We recruited additional (temporary) team members to support our unallocated cases projects, and worked hard to identify efficiencies in our processes and procedures. As a result, we successfully reduced the number and age of cases awaiting allocation. The time taken to allocate cases in 2022-23 fell from 11 months to five months. The number of cases awaiting allocation fell from 677 at the end of 2021-22 to 298 at the end of 2022-2023.

Reducing case allocation waiting times further will be a priority in 2023-24.

Prioritising PSC cases

Driven by our values, particularly being people centred, we continue to identify priority cases on receipt, to ensure the most complainants in the most vulnerable circumstances and complaints that present the highest-risk, or are time critical are progressed with urgency.

Breakdown of PSC cases closed after initial enquiries

Focus on resolution and alternative action

We consider from the outset, and throughout the life of a complaint, whether it can be resolved or alternative practical action would provide a remedy we would accept as reasonable. By focussing on outcomes we identify cases where further SPSO investigation may not be the best option for the complainant (or in the public interest). We continue to build on this and in particular to improve how we explain our decisions so that complainants understand our decisions.

We actively seek opportunities to resolve complaints because we know that where this is possible it improves customer experience by providing redress more quickly and helps to rebuild relationships with public bodies.

In 2022-23 we achieved a resolution on 45 cases, and proposed alternative action which we considered reasonable on a further 58 cases.

We are mindful that we should still identify learning for public bodies in cases we close after initial enquires. We do this by offering and capturing feedback. In 2022-23 we began to track and record the feedback being given more systematically. This showed that we gave 334 pieces of recorded feedback. We believe that this outcome focussed approach encourages organisations to be reflective, and supports them to be more agile and flexible in their own complaints handling.

We will continue to develop our approach in the coming year by considering options for offering mediated approaches.

Public service complaints investigation

Investigations completed

We are committed to taking a fair and proportionate approach in every case. In 2022-23, we have continued to focus on resolving complaints early and proposing alternative action for public bodies. We continue to encourage public bodies through formal feedback including identifying opportunities for learning.

The way we handle complaints through initial enquiries means we carry out detailed investigations in fewer cases, enabling us to focus resources on where we can add the greatest impact and value. This has only been possible because over time model complaints handling has led to improvements in complaint handling by public bodies themselves.

This approach has led to fewer cases progressing to detailed investigation. It has resulted in positive outcomes being implemented for complainants and public bodies at an earlier stage, without the need for an investigation decision to be published. It also means public bodies are recognised for applying the Model Complaints Handling Procedures (MCHPs) appropriately and for carrying out their own thorough investigations, therefore encouraging best practice.

Total cases closed after investigation

Public report investigations

Public report investigations are cases that meet our public interest criteria to lay a detailed report before the Scottish Parliament. These are whe re there is evidence of significant personal injustice or hardship, systemic failure, significant complaints handling failures or it is a test/ precedent case. In these cases, we also considered that there may be learning for other public bodies by reading the full investigation report.

We issued fewer public report investigations in 2022-23 (two down from seven in 2021-22). This in part reflects the increasing additional work public bodies are doing to try to resolve and learn from complaints before they come to the SPSO and once the SPSO starts to investigate.

Cases that are not published in full as public investigation reports are usually published as decision summaries. Public reports and decision summaries can be found in the 'Our findings' section of our website.

Uphold rate

Withdrawn and resolved complaints are not included in the uphold rate calculation.

While we carried out fewer detailed investigations, our uphold rate in 2022-23 remained consistent when compared to previous years. This reflects that we are thorough in our investigative processes and continue to identify areas or organisational learning and improvement.

Independent advice

For a number of complaints, including those about healthcare, social work and social care and local authority planning decisions, SPSO seeks expert advice from a pool of over 100 independent advisers.

Number of advice requests completed

• There was a 30.7% increase in advice requests on the previous year
• While this may seem like a significant increase, it is important to note that it simply brings us back in line with pre-pandemic levels, with 981 advice requests completed in 2019-20.

We recruited 36 additional advisers during the year, including eight GP advisers, four emergency medicine advisers, four nursing advisers and four psychiatric advisers. This was in part to replace the 16 advisers who either retired or resigned during the year.

The average turnaround time for obtaining advice is now 14.9 days. This has decreased from 17.2 days in 2021-22. We can now share evidence with our advisers electronically in most cases, which helps to reduce the overall turnaround time.

Closed cases requiring multiple independent advice

In many cases, we need to obtain more than one piece of professional/ specialist advice. This is mainly in health cases where we need advice from more than one clinician. The number of cases requiring two or more requests for advice, is one indicator of the complexity of the cases in our caseload.

Scottish Welfare Fund

• 1,494 enquiries received
• 1,142 reviews closed
• 75% people contacted us in error instead of their local council
• 89 enquiries were received from local authorities seeking advice

Number of enquiries received

In 2022-23, we received 1,494 enquiries, but handled 1,546, due to late enquiries from 2021-22 being closed in 2022-23. The number of enquiries received decreased 36.2% on the previous year, which brings the number of enquiries received closer to what we experienced in 2020-21.

The spike experienced in 2021-22 was due mainly to the additional workload created by the temporary introduction of the Self-Isolation Support Grant during the pandemic. This year we also introduced interactive voice response telephone options, which signposts applicants more efficiently. This has had a positive impact on reducing enquiries.

• 1,166 people contacted us in error when trying to contact their local council, this is over 75% of all enquiries
• 52 people contacted us as their local council had no freephone number
• 23 people reported other accessibility issues such as barriers to the first tier review process or problems with council’s websites
• 89 enquiries were received from councils seeking advice 56 people contacted us too early in the process and were signposted back to the council
• 68 people were signposted to other sources of assistance such as the Department for Work and Pensions, other Ombudsman Schemes and Citizens Advice
• 40 people were requesting SPSO/ SWF customer service complaint forms

Reviews received and handled

Reviews received and handled quarterly comparison

Number of reviews closed at Review and Decision (R and D)

We received a high volume of SISG reviews in Q1. This reduced significantly in Q2 and decreased to negligible numbers in Q3 and Q4, as the scheme closed in January 2023.

In 2022-23, we received and handled the highest number of CG and CCG reviews since the service was launched in 2016. CCG reviews increased by 32.9% and CGs by 8.1%. It is likely that these increases are linked to cost of living pressures. SISG reviews decreased by 59.2% compared with the previous year, with the scheme closing in January 2023.

Review applications received yearly comparison

^* 2021-22 & 2022-23 - 1 grant type was unclear and did not progress to review due to insufficient information

^* 2019-20 - SISGs were introduced in October 2020 so there is no data prior to this

Review applications handled yearly comparison

Review application outcomes

Self-Isolation Support Grant

We upheld 42.3% of SISG reviews during 2022—23 which is consistent with the previous year. A significant number of upheld cases were linked to data sharing issues as councils were unable to access the information needed from Test and Protect to make their decision.

Community Care Grant

We upheld 47.7% of CCG reviews in 2022—23, a drop of 4 percentage points on the previous year. This potentially indicates an incremental improvement in the proportion of correct decisions. However, it may also be linked to a greater number of applicants approaching the fund who could not afford to purchase items due to cost of living increases but did not meet the qualifying conditions for a CCG. For example, applicants who were facing financial pressure but did not have additional vulnerabilities. The guidance defines ‘exceptional pressure’ as a greater pressure than you would be under just from living on a low income.

Crisis Grant

We upheld 21% of CG reviews, an increase of 3.2 percentage points on the previous year. This differs from the previous four years when the uphold rate reduced year-on-year. It is difficult to pinpoint the reasons for this, although we changed a slightly higher proportion of decisions due to receiving new information that had not been available to the council, such as bank statements and payslips. As with the previous year, councils incorrectly interpreting the information available to them and not following the statutory guidance were the most common reasons for us to uphold a decision.

Achievement against SWF key performance indicators (KPIs)

• Despite receiving the highest number of CG and CCG reviews since the scheme was launched in 2016, we exceeded our KPIs for these two grants.
• We marginally missed our KPI for SISGs due to the high demand and resource challenges of delivering this temporary review function. We took the decision to prioritise CGs because of the immediate nature of these applications. The need was often less immediate for SISG reviews, as the reduction in earnings was not encountered until the applicants’ next pay date.

Average SWF case handling times

All calculated in business days including the time taken for local authorities to send us their files and any investigation time

We encountered delays of several weeks allocating SISGs due to the resourcing pressures mentioned above. These delays are reflected in the above table which outlines average case handling time for each grant.

National context

Taken from Supporting documents – Scottish Welfare Fund Statistics: annual update 2022-2023 – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Local authorities were allocated £38 million for 2022-23. An additional estimated underspend of £4.5 million from 2021-22 was also made available, together with a £2.5 million top-up allocation by the Scottish Government, bringing the budget to an estimated £42.5 million.

Of the estimated total £42.5 million available budget, £56 million (132%) was spent. This overspend is 18 percentage points higher than the overspend in 2021-22 (114%). This reflects the findings of the SWF Review, in which budget pressures were reported by many local authorities.

SWF learning and improvement

Despite resourcing pressures, we engaged in learning and improvement activity, devoting a proportion of our resources to engaging with local authorities. This included delivering 14 bespoke training sessions to individual authorities, focusing on good, evidence based decision making.

We also concentrated on improving our impact, escalating 14 issues to local authorities under our Support and Intervention Policy. Thirteen of these were linked to recurring issues identified in our casework around local authority decision making. One issue was linked to a pattern of delays in responding to our requests for information, which affected our ability to progress reviews. We worked closely with the authorities concerned to resolve the issues raised.

We began an agile project (a flexible, customer centred iterative approach) to review our procedures when applicants disengage from the review process prior to a decision being reached. We look forward to progressing this project in 2023—24.

Independent review of the Scottish Welfare Fund

In 2022—23, the Scottish Government commenced an independent review of the Scottish Welfare Fund. We were part of the review advisory group and our input to this review focused on the ongoing need to ensure consistency of decision making across Scotland and raising standards.

Following the review’s publication in March 2023, we wrote to the Scottish Government to highlight that we welcomed the report and the key themes and questions identified. We also noted that we are particularly concerned that the review found that the local authority to which an applicant applies, has a significant impact on whether their application will be successful, even accounting for other variables.

We made a number of suggestions for consideration including

• an annual review of the statutory guidance to respond to emerging issues and ensure guidance reflects current practice
• more centralised support for decision makers, for example through standardised training
• enhancing the SWF review process to support improvement in practice, in particular at tier 1
• developing a programme of audit to better understand the reasons for local variances and the potential role for SPSO in supporting consistency
• a review of funding specifically targeting an improvement in the quality of decision making (as opposed to timescales)
• support for local authorities to ensure they have mechanisms in place to share performance information with senior managers, including review outcomes. Our preference would be that this is an annual activity that captures performance both in relation to timescales but also with regards to improvements in practice.

We look forward to working as part of the SWF Policy and Advisory Group in 2023—24 to develop recommendations to improve fairness, accessibility, consistency, and quality in the handling of SWF applications.

Independent National Whistleblowing Officer

• 90 people provided with advice
• 125 cases received
• 12 transferred to investigation

Our INWO service

The Independent National Whistleblowing Officer (INWO) service started operating on 1 April 2021 and has now been operational for two years. Our role is to provide the final, independent review stage of how NHS organisations handle concerns under the National Whistleblowing Standards, and to provide information and advice to people who are considering raising concerns within their NHS service.

We normally investigate INWO cases that have completed the two-stage local NHS process. We can investigate

• the risk or issue of concern
• how the concern has been handled by the authority
• the treatment of anyone involved in the local process
• the culture for raising concerns within the health service

On 15 December 2022 the INWO (i.e. the Ombudsman) was added to the list of Prescribed Persons, under the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) 1998. In line with this duty, a report of the disclosures raised with us, and our response to them, is included on our website.

Casework numbers

We provided advice to 90 people. Nearly a third of these were in Q4, we believe reflecting the impact of our awareness raising campaign, ‘Speak Up Week’, held in October 2022.

We received 125 INWO cases, of which 30% were moved from enquiry to initial assessment as a complaint and 10% of all cases progressed to full investigation.

There was a spike in cases received in Q4, again likely to have been the result of Speak Up Week raising general awareness.

Cases received

Cases transferred

As more cases completed the local process, the number of cases coming to the INWO seeking an independent review also increased. Cases may come to the INWO several months after completing the local process. This often reflects the length of time it can take to make improvements to services following the local investigation. It can also reflect that whistleblowers (and other connected to a whistleblowing concern) do not experience detriment from whistleblowing immediately.

Towards the end of the year, we experienced an increase in the number of complaints concerning improvement plans put in place as a result of investigation of local handling concerns, or wider improvement plans, where progress was not as expected or was not communicated to the whistleblower.

Cases closed by stage

2022-23

2021-22

The number of case closures at investigation reflects the complexity of the whistleblowing cases we receive. The number of ongoing investigations gradually increased throughout 2022- 23, reaching 12 at the end of the year. While this number remains small in absolute terms, investigations are more complex and resource intensive and so are not comparable with other investigation work of the SPSO.

INWO casework themes

The issues raised in casework varied significantly, and so far the only consistent message is that each case is different. However, there were some common themes which included

• COVID-19 concerns, relating to working practices, hygiene standards, and staff training (particularly evident in early cases, such as those in our public reports)
• concerns about staff wellbeing and safe delivery of care due to staff shortages/ burn out/ excess use of agency staff
• a culture of bullying and harassment (often in one part of an organisation), having an impact on how people work and safe delivery of care
• poor speak up culture, meaning that risks could go unreported
• pressure to amend records to reduce service waiting times
• unsafe delivery of primary care services, such as excess pressure on staff, poor hygiene practices and poor planning for emergency care needs.

INWO case outcomes

Our impact is evident even at the initial assessment stage. Around half of the advice enquiries we received were premature (in that they had not been through the local process before they came to us). As well as signposting whistleblowers to the local process, we can also send a ‘monitored referral’. This is a significant difference to how we handle premature PSC complaints.

Monitored referrals relate to premature INWO complaints. We were hearing from whistleblowers that they were not confident in local procedures and were concerned that they would not be treated fairly or listened to. We developed the monitored referral approach to try to assure whistleblowers that their concerns were known to us, and that we had broad oversight of how the NHS was handling them. A monitored referral means we confidentially pass the concern onto the NHS provider (with the whistleblower’s permission) and engage with them to ensure the concern is acknowledged and investigated. In some cases we have required the NHS provider to complete additional actions to ensure that the whistleblower is appropriately protected from detriment and supported. We provided this route into the local process for eight whistleblowers in 2022-23.

We publicly reported on two investigations and made recommendations in relation to our findings. Our recommendations sought a range of outcomes, including

• apologies to both whistleblowers
• restoration of working relationships
• improvements in support for whistleblowers and witnesses
• improvements in roles and responsibilities for whistleblowing processes

We discontinued one investigation, where we were satisfied that the risk identified by the whistleblower had been mitigated effectively at local level, and further investigation would not have achieved anything more. This reflects our ongoing consideration of the need to ensure impact and efficiencies when appropriate.

INWO learning and Improvement

Our INWO team has developed good working relationships with stakeholders and has clear procedures in place for information sharing. This enables us to mitigate risks, manage potential overlap in investigations and to ensure efficient use of public resources. It also seeks to reduce the number of times staff in organisations are interviewed or asked to comment on a particular matter.

The INWO team work closely with the SPSO’s Improvement Standards and Engagement team, to support NHS organisations in improving their processes and investigations. Read more about this in our complaints standards and stakeholder engagement chapters.

It is evident from interactions during the year that NHS providers are not always aware of their duties under the Standards. We have produced a range of resources and guidance to support them; this is available on our website. We to continue to work with NHS organisations to raise awareness, promote speak-up culture and to support staff that implementing and accessing the Standards.

Complaints standards

• 294 requests for advice or support
• 51 requests for comment or input on an organisations CHP
• 59 requests from health sector
• 76 requests came from other contacts classed as ‘other’, due to more interest in our work from third-sector organisations, and more internal queries and requests for detailed support from SPSO staff

Our complaints standards role supports and promotes good practice in complaints handling, encouraging the sharing of good practice among organisations, and monitoring public body practice. It provides advice on complaint handling in relation to the Model Complaints Handling Procedure (MCHP) to staff in listed authorities, in organisations working on behalf of listed authorities (e.g., in the third sector) and internally to SPSO colleagues.

The MCHPs for most organisations within SPSO’s jurisdiction were implemented on 1 April 2021. While there is a high degree of consistency of application of the MCHPs, there are differences between sectors

• the National Health Service (NHS) MCHP is a separate but similar procedure which was implemented on 1 April 2017. The NHS MCHP is largely defined and governed by the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011.
• complaints from prisoners about the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) are handled under Part 12 of The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2011 and associated Directions, and the SPS Staff Guidance on Prisoner Complaints and Disciplinary Appeals under the 2011 Rules.
• complaints about water and sewerage providers are handled under their own complaints handling procedures, but they may choose to adopt the MCHP. Water and sewerage providers are however required, as are all organisations under SPSO’s jurisdiction, to handle complaints in line with the SPSO Statement of Complaints Handling Principles.

Monitoring complaints

We monitor in a number of ways, including

• following up issues identified from the complaints made to SPSO
• acting on what we learn from complaints
• monitoring themes identified from monitoring of recommendations we make
• working directly with individual organisations to share and support good practice in complaints handling
• working with sector networks to share sector specific good practice and learning
• where necessary, conducting compliance assessments of organisations’ complaints handling procedures.

Advice to organisations

Advice and guidance we provide to organisations includes

• providing clarification to individual organisations on how to apply the MCHP to real-life (non-case specific) situations
• sharing tools and guidance for effective complaints handling
• contributing to complaints handlers’ network meetings
• delivering presentations, training and workshops on good complaints handling to individual organisations and wider stakeholder groups
• reviewing and providing feedback about draft complaints handling procedures

Number of requests for advice or support

Types of advice requests

In 2022-23, we saw a decrease in requests for advice or support on the previous year, and a change in the nature of requests we received. Notably, there was a decrease in requests for advice where organisations asked us to provide clarification on how to apply the MCHP to real-life (non-case specific) situations. There was also a decrease in general enquiries about complaints standards matters and good practice.

We experienced an increase in requests for comment on or input to organisations’ policies relating to complaint handling. We also received more requests relating to the complaints handling procedures of third-sector organisations as a result of an increased interest in our work.

We provide an internal advice service in relation to complaints handling and MCHP to colleagues investigating complaints. There was an increase in internal requests from SPSO staff for advice and request to contribute to wider communication with organisations.

We noted a decrease in requests for tools and guidance from organisations. We think this likely to be due to increased external promotion of these materials (much of which is available on the SPSO website) from our Engagement and Communications team, and a more structured approach being developed to the availability and structure of complaint handling training.

We experienced an increase in issues relating to MCHP compliance, in particular around timescales, whether complaints could be paused (they cannot), and from third sector organisations providing services on behalf of listed authorities.

Advice requests by sector

In 2022-23, we saw a shift in where requests came from compared to the previous year. We had a decrease in requests from local authorities, housing, and the Scottish Government and devolved administration sector, likely due to increased familiarity with the updated MCHP. We had an increase in the volume of requests from the health sector, returning to pre- pandemic levels, where a slightly different MCHP is in operation (as noted above)

We also noted a further significant increase from previous years in contacts classed as ‘other’, due to more interest in our work from third-sector organisations, and more internal queries and requests for detailed support from SPSO staff.

Supporting the complaint handling community

We participate in a range of sector specific network meetings which are organised and run by complaints handlers in local authorities, the NHS, housing, further education and higher education. We also attend ad hoc meetings and attend conferences, to explain how the MCHPs work and the SPSO’s role, as well as share tips for good practice in complaints handling.

In addition to supporting organisations within our jurisdiction, we also engaged with a variety of organisations, in particular from the third sector, looking to find out more about the MCHP and our approach to complaints handling. We are always pleased to share what we have learned over the years, to share the good practice that we see and to learn from the feedback we receive.

We continue to meet regularly with complaints standards staff from other ombudsmen schemes, commissioners and regulatory bodies across the UK and Ireland.

KPIs

Part 4 of the MCHP covers complaint handling and governance. It emphasises the importance for organisations of recording, reporting on, learning from and publicising complaints. The MCHP states that organisations must report on performance statistics that we set. Although the focus is on quantitative data about how many complaints organisations received, the time taken to respond to them and the outcomes reached, we emphasise the importance for organisations of capturing qualitative information on learning from complaints and how that informs and contributes to improvement. For example, the MCHP states that organisations will publish, on a quarterly basis, information on complaints outcomes and actions taken to improve services, such as ‘you said, we did’ bulletins.

National whistleblowing standards

In addition to our work on PSC MCHP, we also provide advice and support to whistleblowing practitioners delivering NHS services in Scotland by giving advice about the application of the National Whistleblowing Standards. Although we cannot tell organisations how they should deal with specific cases, our complaints standards staff provide general advice to organisations. This approach avoids any conflicts of interest in relation to decision-making on a complaint that may later be made to the INWO. This year, we handled 32 such enquiries.

Learning from complaints

• 460 premature cases (down 41%)
• 350 recommendations made
• 52% of recommendations were for learning and improvement
• 189 published decisions on our website

• The absolute number of premature cases decreased from 783 cases in 2021—22 to 460 cases in 2022—23.
• The reason for this decrease links directly to our engagement work with public bodies and there capacity to handle complaints more effectively coming of the pandemic.
• Premature cases made up 12% of the total number of cases in 2022—23, which is 10 percentage points lower than 2021—22.
• The water sector saw the highest percentage premature cases with 20% in 2022—23. This is a considerable decrease from 2021—22, where 49% of cases were premature. This reflects the positive engagement we have had with organisations to support effective signposting for complainants.
• We work with all stakeholders to promote learning, share good practice and drive improvements ensuring that complainants have their rights respected. Integral to this is the making of recommendations to limit repeated dissatisfaction for customers.
• Learning from complaints is a focus at our internal quarterly casework performance meeting where we share good practice and identify opportunities for internal improvements in our processes.

Premature complaints by sector

Public service complaints uphold rates by sector

The most significant changes related to university and housing associations complaints which can be explained by the low number of cases investigated.

Overview of recommendations

We are most likely to ask for a specific action to be taken in relation to individual remedies for complainants. With complaint handling, and learning and improvement, we take a slightly different approach and focus on the outcomes we require and the evidence that they have been achieved. This, we believe, promotes more sustainable and embedded learning and improvement.

Number of recommendations made by type

In 2022-23, the SPSO issued 350 recommendations, a significant decrease from 511 recommendations in the previous year. The reduction in overall numbers is a positive indicator as reflects the number of cases we close after initial investigation where we often do not need to make a finding and recommendation, and those we are able to resolve.

Relative proportions of types of recommendations remained in line with the profile of the SPSO’s workload in previous years. For example, nearly 40% of recommendations relate to changing something for an individual and just over half of recommendations relate to learning and improvement for the organisation.

Number of PSC recommendations made by sector

• The health sector received the highest number of recommendations issued with 72.3%.
• Local authorities made up the second largest proportion with 14%.

Compliance with recommendations

We set a deadline for implementation of recommendations and follow them all up until we are satisfied that they have been implemented. We do not close a complaint until we are satisfied that recommendations have been implemented. The Ombudsman has the powers to report failure to comply with recommendations to the Scottish Parliament, but it is notable that as in previous years, we have not had any need to apply them.

Recommendation compliance by sector

Recommendation compliance by recommendation type

There was an improvement in the percentage of recommendations closed within target with 54.8% closed compared to 46.4% in the previous year.

We agreed extensions to organisations in specific circumstances where they could evidence that they needed a longer timeframe to fulfil recommendations within the particular constraints at the time. Reasons for extending were often related to the capacity of the organisation to implement the actions we recommended.

Feedback to organisations by sector

In many cases, we give feedback to organisations. This ranges from positive feedback on examples of good practice or service, to feedback about issues where we have identified potential learning.

• The health sector received the highest number of feedback (177) with the majority falling under the points to note category.
• Local authorities received the second highest number of feedback with 75 instances, 45 of those relating to complaints handling.

Support and Intervention Policy

2022—23 was the fourth year of the Support and Intervention Policy (SIP) in operation. This policy sets out the framework for where we offer support to organisations or intervene directly when required. Driven by our learning and improvement value, it helps us to focus our resources on public bodies who require support to help them improve their complaint handling practice or address poor performance.

There are six levels of intervention, level one being the most informal, and level six being the application of legal powers. There is more information about this on our website Support and Intervention Policy | SPSO

We updated the policy document and information leaflet about how we use the policy in 2022—23. We also revised our internal guidance to ensure it was up to date with current practice and to ensure consistent application across all SPSO functions.

We use the information and intelligence we gather to build pictures of organisations’ complaint handing practice. This enables us to target and build support around themes and trends as well as individual concerns. SIP interactions include

• further contact from one of our Complaints Reviewers enquiring about overdue information
• engagement from ISE team members to support learning and improvement or,
• in situations of continued non-compliance or repeated difficulties, the Ombudsman may decide to write directly to the head of the organisation or as a last resort, issue a report to Parliament drawing their attention to the problem.

Support and Intervention actions (management level)

We applied the policy to a number of organisations

• Grampian NHS Board (Level 3 – incomplete response to SPSO enquiry)
• Business Stream (Level 3 – failure to respond to SPSO enquiry)
• Fife NHS Board (Level 4 – failure to respond to SPSO enquiry)
• Fife NHS Board (Level 5 – incomplete response to SPSO enquiry)

It is notable that the number of interventions has decreased since last year. This indicates to us that our more general feedback and interventions are having a positive effect. We are pleased to report that this year our interventions were positive resulting in positive outcomes and promoting further and more meaningful engagement with organisations. We have been encouraged by the open and cooperative reaction by public bodies.

Sharing learning from complaint outcomes

In 2022-23, we shared our findings and learning with organisations and the wider public through

• summaries of all our decisions are published on our website
• engagement at network meetings
• a monthly e-newsletter which signposts to our decision summaries and highlights trends and learning
• working with a variety of stakeholders such as Healthcare Improvement Scotland, sharing anonymised data to inform a wider view of public service delivery across Scotland
• publication of SWF case studies on our website.

Stakeholder engagement

• Launched Child Friendly Complaints project
• 69 people completed Good Complaints Handling course
• 236 people from 63 organisations completed Complaints Investigation Skills training
• 103 Staff participated in 103 meetings and events with key stakeholder

Through our Improvement, Standards and Engagement (ISE) team, we engage with a range of stakeholders and organisations to provide support and advice, drive improvements in standards of complaints handling and contribute to public sector improvement.

Meetings

We continued to engage with organisations online (e.g. through Teams) rather than in person as many organisations, including ourselves, are operating in a hybrid way. ISE’s complaints standards staff participated in 103 virtual meetings and events over the year.

Engagements included

• a wide range of complaints handlers’ network groups including INWO and whistleblowing related groups
• sharing our experience with other Ombudsman offices and regulatory bodies around the UK of standardising and simplifying complaints handling procedures
• general complaints handling support across all sectors e.g., dealing with challenging behaviour, recording and reporting complaints
• attending conferences and other events to explain the Ombudsman’s four statutory roles, to promote good practice in complaints handling and the importance of learning from complaints, and to reinforce the importance of recognising people’s right to complain and to receive a good complaints handling service

We are a member of a number of sector, interest and working groups, including

• Healthcare Improvement Scotland Sharing Intelligence Group, working with partner scrutiny agencies to share intelligence in relation to different health boards on a regular basis
• the Administrative Justice Council (AJC) and Administrative Justice Council Steering Group (AJCSG, the Ombudsman is vice chair).

Child Friendly Complaints

During 2022-23 we began work on a multi-year project to implement a child friendly approach to handling complaints for public bodies under our jurisdiction. This work was supported by funding from the Scottish Government. The aim of the project is to co-design and implement a public sector complaints service that meets children’s rights and needs, working in co-operation with children and young people, public bodies and wider stakeholders.

From the outset, the project has followed a rights based approach, placing children’s rights under the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child (the UNCRC) at the centre of our work.

Research

We began by consulting a range of children’s rights experts, to better understand the existing theory and good practice surrounding children’s complaints. We spoke to

• leading academics in fields relevant to children’s rights and participation
• third sector organisations with an interest in children’s rights
• public bodies with key roles in the oversight and promotion of children’s rights, including the Children’s and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland

Co-design

We held 21 co-design workshops to generate and then begin testing ideas for a child friendly approach to complaints handling. In attendance at these workshops were

• 50+ children and young people of all ages, from a range of backgrounds and circumstances
• 200+ adults who care for or work with children

• This is how consultation with young people should be done Feedback from a young person following a co-design workshop

This resulted in pilot versions of a set of Child Friendly Complaints Handling Principles, and a Child Friendly Complaints Handling Procedure.

Next steps

In 2023-24 we will be conducting a pilot of the new principles and process, focusing primarily on key public services provided to children and young people, such as education and social work. We will then roll out to all of the public bodies under our jurisdiction, with the aim of full implementation by 1 April 2024.

Consultation and engagement

We use our experience and evidence to help support the work of others to improve public service design and delivery by responding to consultations and requests for comments. In 2022-23 we responded to 13 consultations and requests for comment. These covered a broad range of topics and organisations including

• providing comments to the Ethical Standards Commissioner as they were developing their Investigations guidance
• submitting evidence to the Independent Review of Inspection, Scrutiny and Regulation in Scotland (Social Care)
• responding to a Westminster consultation on human rights and Ombudsmen schemes.

We gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament three times

• to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee about our 2021—22 annual report
• to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee about the proposed Patient Safety Commissioner
• to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee about the proposed National Care Service

Training

In 2022-23, we redeveloped our training programme for complaint handlers in all sectors. This was to create a more efficient and effective way to deliver complaints handling training, whilst also providing greater access to training for the Scottish public sector.

We developed an accredited, self-guided, online course on Good Complaints Handling. This course is aimed at staff handling complaints at stage 1 of the MCHP and is accessible directly through the SPSO website.

We also redesigned our trainer-led Complaints Investigation Skills training. This course, aimed at staff who investigate complaints at stage 2 of the MCHP, is a one-day course run quarterly and delivered by expert trainers from across the SPSO, including colleagues who investigate PSC complaints.

We launched these courses in January 2023 and early assessment of the impact of them has been encouraging. In the year 2022-23, for the Good Complaint Handling course

• 168 applications were received to register for the course
• 69 people completed the course

Feedback

• I liked the mix of video and testing your knowledge after completing each module.
• The audio added further information and the pace was excellent. The functionality was good. It was all very clear.
• All very interesting making you more aware of how to deal better with complaints for all concerned.

In 2022-23, for the Complaints Investigation Skills course

• 236 people from 63 organisations completed the training
• 16 courses delivered by us across four days

Organisations by sector

Feedback

• Very informative. Ready to answer questions and giving us room to pause.
• Clear presentation and lots of opportunities to contribute or ask questions.
• Excellent, very confident and knowledgeable.

Customer service

• 137 complaints received
• 134 complaints closed
• 61% upheld
• 51 closed at stage 1
• 12 closed at stage 2
• 18 closed after independent review

Our customer service standards are driven by our values, with a strong focus on learning and improvement internally. Our recommendations reflect this drive and our commitment to public service improvement, access to justice and accessibility for all.

The SPSO has three broad customer service commitments

• effective communication
• working in an open and fair way, and
• carrying out their duties competently and responsibly.

We use data to inform, develop and support our ongoing commitment to providing high-quality services that meet or exceed our customer service commitments. We firmly believe that data maturity holds the key to continually raising our standards and performance.

We utilise and review all forms of feedback; this includes information from user satisfaction survey responses, customer service complaints, compliments and unsolicited feedback.

Customer service complaints

We hold ourselves to the same high standards as we hold public bodies. Our customer service complaints (CSC) process has the same two-stage process as the MCHP, except instead of signposting to the Ombudsman, we have a contract in place with an Independent Customer Service Complaints Reviewer (ICSCR) to whom we signpost complainants at stage three.

Total (all stages) yearly comparison

• The increase in complaints received is a direct result of our work of clearing the backlog of cases and the delays that complaints encountered throughout this period.

Customer service complaints received quarterly breakdown

CSC cases closed

CSC cases upheld (fully and partially) %

• Quarterly complaints received increased from Q1 through to Q3 and Q4, the addition of stage 3 complaints after Q1 impacted on these totals.
• Our uphold rate is based on fully and partially upheld. This is variable due to the nature of our recording system. We recognise this needs improving and work is ongoing to refine how we record to ensure we can drill down into our data more accurately.

We analyse our CSC data quarterly to ensure we are learning from complaints. We measure ourselves against our service standards. This supports our improvement and training functions. The chart below shows the percentage of themes we have upheld fully or partially by quarter and the full year.

Uphold rates by CSC subject

Outcomes

Note: Total upheld/ not upheld is less than total closed cases as some cases have moved to other stages/ had other closure reason

This year our staff were able to resolve two frontline complaints.

We ensure all staff are using consistent language and processes to help complainants to either obtain early satisfaction or to escalate if needed to a customer service complaint.

All staff are empowered to resolve these complaints as close to the point of service delivery as possible. We consider resolution conversations to be a positive contributor in response to increasing awareness, demonstrating that we value complaints and holding ourselves to high customer service standards.

Some complaints may require an approach other than investigation and we encourage all our staff to use an alternative complaint resolution approach where appropriate.

Timescales

We aim to respond to customer service complaints in line with the timescales set out in the MCHP. The timescales to close complaints are

• 5 working days at stage 1
• 20 working days at stage 2 (complaints that bypass stage 1 because they require a detailed investigation at stage 2)
• 20 working days for ‘escalated’ complaints (complaints considered at stage 1, that progressed to stage 2 because the complainant remained dissatisfied)

Performance against timescales

• Stage 1 performance remains high with 90% meeting the timescale, and the average workings days to close lower than the target at 3.7 days.
• Stage 2 performance also remains high 82% meeting the timescales, and the average working days to close lower than the target at 17.9 days.
• Reasons for not meeting the timescales often are linked to cases being more complex or having more complex information that the outset as was the case with our oldest CSC.

Independent Customer Complaints Reviewer (ICSCR)

Like our role in the public service complaints process, the ICSCR reviews and investigates complaints about SPSO’s internal complaints handling where customers remain unhappy with either the decision we made or how we handled it. The ICSCR process is completely independent and provides a full and timely response to complaints. The ICSCR’s role is to provide assurance that the SPSO have robust arrangements for handling customer service complaints in line with our policy and procedures, and that complainants have the opportunity for review by someone outside of the organisation.

Matters relating to the substance of the SPSO’s decisions on complaints about public bodies are not within the ICSCR’s remit.

In 2022-23 there have been 18 CSC cases taken to stage 3 and resolved by the ICSCR

• the ICSCR has acknowledged all cases within the three-day target
• the average time to reach a final decision from receipt was 26 days
• only 1 decision fell short of the 20 working day timescale for response

In 2022-23 the ICSCR undertook a random review of customer service complaint files during the year. The review sampled cases, allowing the ICSCR to identify learning opportunities and suggest recommendations to help drive improvements within our service.

The finding from this review found the main upheld themes related to our commitments to communicating effectively and being open and fair

• Communication
  • Timeliness
  • Accessibility
• Keeping informed
  • Open and fair
  • Impartiality and independence

This learning is shared across the organisation to support internal training and development.

Accessibility

Our staff recognise that accessibility is everyone’s responsibility. All SPSO staff are committed to making our service accessible and embrace this value by consistently demonstrating this in our communication with individuals.

We aim to ensure that no-one is excluded from using our service and that we treat people with dignity and respect.

We are guided by the following

People centred value

We live this value by treating people with dignity and respect, making ourselves accessible, delivering a compassionate service in line with our service standards, and working supportively with each other.

Strategic theme

Everybody who uses Scottish public services can access them without barriers, when they need them, in the way they need to. People are always treated with dignity, respect and kindness.

Customer service standards

• Our service will be easily available and accessible to you.
• We will work with you to meet your individual needs, including working with representatives to support you through our service.

A variety of initiatives were progressed during 2022-23, which developed our service and broadened our understanding of inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility

Trauma-informed approach training

Trauma-informed practice is grounded in the understanding that trauma exposure can impact an individual’s neurological, biological, psychological and social development. Understanding how trauma affects us and people accessing our services is important as it enables us to identify how we can help and support people who come to us, and our own staff. All SPSO staff were trained in this approach during 2022.

Vulnerabilities guidance

In response to learning from the training, our vulnerabilities guidance was reviewed and refreshed to include trauma- informed approach information.

This addition has assisted staff to recognise trauma and adjust our process when/where appropriate. Examples are detailed in the guidance of the effects of trauma (as expressed by our service users) and we have listed successful adjustments that we have made for individuals who have been/are subject to trauma.

Staff awareness/ information events

Our Inclusion Diversity Equality and Accessibility staff interest group (IDEA collaborative) comprising staff membership from across the organisation, organised awareness and information events in celebration of

• Black History Month
• LGBT History Month
• International Women’s Day

Request for adjustments to our service

During 2021-22 we made improvements to our customer record management system, ensuring that adjustments are consistently recorded and applied when agreed with individuals.

The IDEA collaborative conducted a review of adjustment requests from public service complaint and Scottish Welfare Fund customers.

We found that most adjustments related to dyslexia. Training will be delivered to broaden our understanding of the needs of dyslexic service users in 2023-24.

Ensuring we do not digitally exclude

As covered in first contact, we continue to experience a channel shift in members of the public contacting us digitally. However, we are mindful that a lack of digital skills and access should not disadvantage anyone using our service.

We redeveloped our paper complaint form and now issue it with a freepost envelope ensuring fair access and that no one is financially excluded if they prefer to contact us by post.

We also have a freephone telephone number and offer a call back service if anyone wishes to speak to us outwith our opening hours.

Managing the organisation

• 111 FOI requests received
• 106 DSARs received
• 296 public service complaint reviews received
• 1 INWO review request received

• developed our casework management system to improve efficiency and data security
• launched the Learning Hub, a digital platform for learning and development
• reduced our carbon footprint by more than 20 percent since 2015-16
• reaccredited for Investors in People Gold status

Openness and transparency

Freedom of information and environmental information requests

Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs)

• We saw a sharp increase in requests for information and DSARs compared to last year’s figures, with the highest number of DSARs recorded to date.
• The majority of requests for information continue to relate to our casework.
• Where we carried out reviews of information requests, these all wholly or partially upheld our original decision, which gives us confidence in our decisions.
• There was one first time response at review (where there was no response to the original request), and one request for review withdrawn.
• We responded to 96% of requests and reviews within the statutory timescales.
• The Scottish Information Commissioner’s published statistics show that for 2022-23 our received FOI figures are within the top five out of over 100 Scottish authorities listed in the same sector as the SPSO, and our DSAR figures are within the top two.
• Following an application for a decision from the Scottish Information Commissioner, the Commissioner found that we complied with Part 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 in responding to the information request made by the Applicant.
• We continue to adopt the Scottish Information Commissioner’s Model Publication Scheme and publish a guide on our website to the information that we make available, which we review, and update where necessary.
• We use data in a way that is fair. We are clear, open and honest about how we will use data, and comply with the transparency obligations of the right to be informed. We provide information in a way that is concise; transparent; intelligible; easily accessible; and uses clear and plain language. We review, and update our information where necessary.

Scottish Information Commissioner’s statistics (Sector: Other)

Freedom of information requests received:

* SPSO figure taken from internal year end reporting

Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) received:

* SPSO figure taken from internal year end reporting

As can been seen from the tables above, FOI requests to the other top ten Scottish public authorities listed in the same sector as the SPSO increased in total by over 70%, and DSARs by over 100%. SPSO’s increase is comparable, though there is not quite as sharp an increase as overall for DSARs. We think the most likely reason for the increase is connected to emerging from the pandemic, particularly where there were delays. It is notable that we also saw an increase in customer service complaints (see page 81), and many of these were because of delay.

Managing the organisation: our team

Overview

Our objective is to be acknowledged for having well trained, properly supported people, who have the tools they need to deliver our services. We strive to have the capacity, financial, human and infrastructure, to implement and deliver our statutory functions. In 2022-23 we

• maintained Living Wage Employer accreditation
• were reaccredited for Investors in People Gold status
• maintained membership to the Employer’s Network for Equalities and Inclusion
• launched a trial of hybrid working and began collecting staff feedback on this trial
• consulted with colleagues across the organisation to develop a plan and approach to flexible future working arrangements post-pandemic

• launched the Learning Hub, a digital platform for learning and development
• continued to support the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner as part of a shared service arrangement
• developed an agreement to deliver shared services to the Scottish Human Rights Commission
• ontinued to deliver a broad range of activities to support staff to achieve a balance of work and life and positive health and wellbeing
• developed and delivered a programme of learning and development activities to encourage and support our colleagues’ skills and knowledge

Our people; staff numbers

Our workforce was an average of 80 Full-time Equivalent (FTE) for 2022-23 (76 FTE 2021-22). We have grown with each new jurisdiction added to the Ombudsman’s statutory responsibilities.

A focus in the past year was on recruitment and induction of five additional Complaints Reviewers to fill temporary fixed-term vacancies to support with our pandemic recovery plans.

Diversity

We continue to monitor and develop our approach to recruitment, selection and promotion so that it follows good practice across all diversity and equality strands. We monitor all aspects of diversity of our workforce on an ongoing basis. On 31 March 2023, 76% of employees in the organisation were female and 24% were male (not including seconded and temporary staff) (73:27 in 2021-22). Two of the three members of our leadership team and 82% of our management team are female (78% in 2021-22).

Healthy, safety and wellbeing

This year we continued to prioritise the health, safety and wellbeing of our people and the public. We have worked hard to keep people connected and supported as we transitioned to office working and hybrid arrangements with a focus on health and wellbeing and this included

• development and launch of Hybrid Working Principles to allow continued flexibility in working arrangements while also enabling collaboration and improving wellbeing through in person contact
• delivering a calendar of health and wellbeing events, information and awareness raising
• continued regular organisation-wide meetings
• ongoing opportunities to improve social connections through work both virtually and in person
• collaboratives continuing to deliver virtual and in person meetings to enable knowledge-sharing and social connections
• adopting online collaborative tools and resources to enable virtual working, communication, learning and development

We recognise that there are benefits to having more flexibility and self-determination about where and when we work and on this basis the offices were open for staff to attend on a voluntary basis. Equally, we recognise and respect that our colleagues and service users have needs which need to be balanced with individual choice. We have not changed our flexible working policies but we launched a 12 month trial of hybrid working (beginning in July 2022).

We are using this trial period to take an agile approach to developing policy in light of learning from our experiences. We have Hybrid Working Principles to guide managers and our people through the trial period. Through ongoing review and consultation we have been able to respond quickly to queries and concerns about hybrid and office working arrangements. At the end of this trial we will use feedback from colleagues to develop long term policy.

Training and development

We continued to meet the people development needs of the organisation through a range of activities. Learning and development activities were delivered around key areas including

• compliance training (e.g., health and safety, GDPR, cyber security, counter-terrorism, trauma informed approach)
• skills development events (e.g., complaints skills, call recording, communications, train the trainer, engagement policy)
• Casework knowledge (e.g., Casework Matters featuring talks about prisoner complaints and the prison service, water complaints, health data and statistics, patient safety, kinship care, social care and self-directed support)
• a range of skills development learning opportunities in response to the development needs identified as part of individual personal development plans (e.g., Excel training, interview skills, social media, pension awareness, benefits, mental health and wellbeing)
• a quarterly programme of leadership development activities to our management community (e.g., risk, agile project management, managing the menopause, giving and receiving feedback using conversational IQ)

In March 2023 we had our first all staff business planning meeting in person since the pandemic which was an opportunity for everyone to get together, collaborate and strengthen relationships between colleagues and teams.

Investors in People

SPSO achieved Investors in People (IIP) accreditation recognition in 2011 and has maintained a gold accreditation status since February 2017. Accreditation status is evaluated on a three-year basis, with an informal review undertaken on an annual basis. SPSO’s formal reaccreditation took place in March 2023 and we maintained gold accreditation status.

Feedback demonstrated that SPSO continues to foster an environment in which people feel supported and valued by line managers and leadership. Our people are proud of the work they do and are committed to delivering the best for people accessing our service. They have a clear and consistent understanding of the SPSO vision, values, aims and objectives and are involved in business planning activities. People are also able influence decision making and make positive contributions to the SPSO aims, objectives and long-term sustainability through collaboratives. The collaboratives, along with the organisation’s commitment to learning and improvement enable people to take ownership of their learning and development. A particular area where we saw improvement was in feedback about appreciation and recognition for the work that they do.

The report identified areas of improvement including

• identifying opportunities to stretch and develop people
• exploring alternative methods for staff to give feedback
• considering varying recognition methods such as peer recognition
• facilitating in person opportunities for people to communicate, connect and collaborate across the organisation
• continuing to provide learning and development opportunities that help staff to define career paths
• further embedding agile approaches to improvements, projects and trialling new ideas
• continuing to work towards improving the diversity of the workforce
• continuing to advance our impact and responsibilities to society and the wider community

This level of accreditation recognises organisations which strive for the best possible standards in people and management, the nurturing of talent, and which encourage personal development. IIP is an internationally recognised accreditation held by 50,000 organisations and is recognised in 66 countries around the world, gold accreditation is only awarded to 26% of organisations assessed. That the SPSO achieved this level is a significant achievement and reflects the collective work of the whole office.

Staff survey

The SPSO conducts an annual staff survey and the summary reports are published on our website.

Each year the staff survey results, along with our IIP assessment findings, are combined to create an annual action plan to ensure we maintain our focus on commitment to building a people-centred organisation.

2022-23 survey highlights:

• 75% response rate
• 95% of questions scored above 70% positive with 31% scoring above 90% positive
• scores improved in 72 out of 85 questions compared to the last survey
• the most improved scores were under the theme of leadership (improved by 12% on average)
• health and wellbeing was the highest scoring theme (92% on average)

Collaboratives, working groups, work streams

A number of staff-led, cross-team working groups continued over the last year to promote and support interaction, cooperation and knowledge sharing across the organisation. The groups established include communities of practice, Health and Wellbeing, Climate Change and a Corporate Social Responsibility group that incorporates our charity work and other social and community collaborations.

Research and recommendations carried out by the Future Working Group led to the reopening of the office with a trial of hybrid working arrangements. The group have been reviewing the trial through informal collection of team feedback which has then been shared with the leadership team to develop guidance and provide advice to staff. Alongside this, the group have been collating survey feedback to formally analyse views which will inform future policy development.

Community, social and human rights

Many of our staff are involved in community and social rights engagement activities outside of work, including volunteering for

• the Children’s Panel
• the Law Society of Scotland’s Regulatory committee
• Fresh Start, a charity helping previously homeless people who have been offered a tenancy assistance to move into their new home
• Ochil Youth Community Improvement, a local youth led charity

In 2022-23 we observed mental health awareness week with informative communications and resources to raise awareness on the theme of loneliness. Throughout the year the Wellbeing Action Group planned events and activities each month to observe different causes to support wellbeing. These activities included

• June – World Blood Donor Day
• July – Samaritans Awareness Day
• August – Cycle to Work Day
• September - National Fitness Day/ World Heart Day
• October – National Work Life Week
• November – Men’s Health month
• December - National Grief Awareness Week
• January - Brew Monday
• February - Time to Talk Day
• March - Nutrition and hydration week

Managing the organisation: governance

Governance

As Accountable Officer, the Ombudsman has responsibility for maintaining a sound system of governance and internal control that supports the achievement of organisational policies, aims, and objectives, whilst safeguarding public funds and the organisation’s assets for which she is responsible. The Scheme of Control outlines the arrangements in place to assure good governance practices are followed. This is published in our finance handbook.

The Ombudsman is supported by the Advisory Audit Board (AAB), which provides advice about risk, assurance, audit quality and governance. The committee receives internal and external audit reports and the annual accounts. Audit Scotland appoint our external auditors.

Strategic risk management and control

Seven Strategic Risks

The seven strategic risks showed no movement during 2022-23. Key controls are

Further details on the SPSO governance arrangements can be read in our full accountability report.

Quality Assurance

The SPSO has an annual Quality Assurance (QA) programme to ensure that all SPSO casework is handled in accordance with our procedures as written in the SPSO guidance.

The QA programme is set out on an annual basis using standardised and risk-based assessments carried out independently of the decision makers.

This year our QA programme was risk based focussing on the following key areas

• an assessment of professional advice sought and obtained for public service complaint decisions
• an assessment of public service complaint decisions based on proportionality
• an assessment of initial telephone calls to complainants on public service complaints

For each of the QA areas, we found that in the majority of cases the guidance for our investigative staff had been followed well. The initial professional advice sought was clear and appropriate for the level of investigation and incorporated well into decision letters. Decisions that were closed at assessment were determined as correct in all cases, with only one case being re-opened to make a further enquiry. The standard of initial telephone communications was high, demonstrating effective listening, management of expectations and empathy for complainants’ situations.

The findings of the QAs were discussed with the individuals involved, and shared with managers. The findings, including any recommendations for improvement (such as a reminder to staff to ensure they are completing all mandatory forms), were also reported to the SPSO Leadership Team and followed to inform and ensure wider learning.

Public service and INWO complaint reviews

The Ombudsman has put in place a non-statutory review process where a complainant or a public body can ask the Ombudsman to review the decision on a complaint (a different process applies to public reports) that has been made by one of her staff under delegated powers. Each review request is considered and responded to by the Ombudsman, with support from Executive Casework Officers.

In 2022-23, we received 296 PSC requests for review. This represents 8% of all cases received this year. The Ombudsman responded to 245 of these requests in 2022-23.

Comparatively we received more requests for reviews on cases that were investigated beyond initial enquiries, than those that were determined in the earlier stages.

We received one INWO request for review in which we agreed with the approach taken by the complaints reviewer and the decision remained unchanged.

Public service complaint reviews quarterly breakdown

As can be seen from the tables above the rate at which we received review requests by quarter remained consistent in relation to last year. The rate at which we closed review requests was lower for the first quarter reflecting staffing challenges. The closure rate was consistent with the previous year in quarters 2-4.

Public service complaint review outcomes

* (in one of these cases we received review requests from both parties to the complaint, so there were 12 review requests on 11 cases)

Reasons for revised decisions

New information received from either party

At decision review we invite complainants to provide us with new information which they consider may impact on the decision making process.

11 cases were re-opened for further investigation this year (in one of these cases we received separate review requests from both parties to the complaint).

In five of these cases we received new information at the review stage which led to the cases being re-opened.

We also changed the outcome at review stage on four cases. These were all closed in the early stages. Two of these outcomes were changed due to new information being provided.

Mistake or factual inaccuracy being relied upon in the original decision

Overall, there were only eight cases (reviews were received from both parties on one of these cases) in which the outcome was changed or further investigation was required due to a mistake being made or information we relied on contained a factual inaccuracy.

This represents 3% of all complaint reviews determined and represents 0.3% of all complaints determined by the office this year, demonstrating a high quality of decision-making.

Performance against KPIs

We knew we were not going to meet the review KPIs for responding to review requests. This was down to a combination of the legacy impact of the pandemic on our resources, the increased number of PSC cases closed and resourcing challenges. Nevertheless, we have reported against them to show the impact of our focus on achieving the target for responding to the oldest review requests. As a result, we met the 90-day target in 98% of cases. We have in place a triage system to prioritise urgent review requests and consider all requests to prioritise a review

Shared Services

Our move to Bridgeside House accommodation in December 2018 enabled a co-location arrangement with the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and the Children and Young People Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS). This co- location provided the opportunity to share common services such as facilities, health, safety and security management, postal services, and shared areas such as the boardroom and training facilities. As the largest tenant, SPSO was asked by the SPCB to be the named leaseholder and provide the facilities management for the group. In 2021-22 we welcomed the new Scottish Biometrics Commissioner (SBC) into Bridgeside House to also share these services.

In addition to providing lease and facilities management for Bridgeside House, the shared service agenda was further extended to the new Commissioner body, SBC, when we agreed to provide corporate service administration for finance, a full HR service, and other support functions to the SBC. This shared corporate service has been extended further to the SHRC from April 2023.

Environmental and sustainable development

Since 2015-16 we have reduced our carbon footprint by more than 20 percent, despite increasing in staff numbers and having responsibility for reporting on the waste and energy carbon emissions for all four organisations located in Bridgeside House from 2019-20. Our total emissions equate to less than 0.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) per FTE employee or 0.04 (tCO2e) per m2 floor space we occupy. Despite this, the building gas usage during the year increased, due to fewer staff members in the building. We are addressing this usage by further reducing the building temperature.

SPSO continued to implement actions generated using the Resource Efficient Scotland’s Climate Change Assessment Tool. These actions provide a plan that will assist SPSO to further reduce emissions and embed awareness of the need to adapt to climate change within the organisation with the aim to be NET ZERO by 2030. Further details of carbon emission reductions are in our Climate Change Duties Reports on our website.

Biodiversity

We support biodiversity through

• reducing our carbon footprint
• minimising waste and reducing waste to landfill through recycling
• reducing the total kilometres we travel on business and choosing more sustainable travel options
• raising awareness of biodiversity and sustainability issues, and
• using local suppliers where possible.

SPSO does not own or manage land and therefore has limited opportunity to carry out activities for biodiversity. Further details are in our Environment, Sustainability and Biodiversity report on our website.

Cyber Security

Digital technologies underpin and enable our service. We manage these closely to protect the sensitive personal data and confidential data we hold and use, and ensure our systems remain robust and resilient. Continued cyber-attacks on organisations have highlighted the importance of, and reliance on, digital systems. Digital technology offers transformational opportunities, but also increases dependence on digital services for the delivery of our work.

The importance of cyber resilience has never been greater, and in 2022-23, we continued implementing the Cyber Resilience Public Sector Action Plan, assessing our cyber resilience arrangements against the Scottish Government Cyber Resilience Framework Tool and renewing Cyber Essentials accreditation in December 2022. SPSO utilise SCOTS Connect to host our network services to provide a safe and secure digital environment. SCOTS is the name for the Scottish Government’s range of managed IT services and products that hold Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation. Our emails are sent over the secure Public Services Network (PSN) and all traffic is scanned for inappropriate or harmful content, which protects our systems, people and data. Our staff receive regular updates and training in relation to cyber risks.

ICT

In 2022-23, SPSO began a hybrid working trial with staff working from the office and from home. This encouraged the adoption of further projects to support electronic working to ensure we continued to provide our service in an efficient and secure IT environment. These included

• continuing development of our casework management system (CMS) to improve efficiency and data security
• upgrading our Microsoft suite to give access to wider tools and applications
• removing local drives to improve records management and efficiency

Equalities

2022-23 was the first year SPSO used a redesigned equalities monitoring form. It aligns with the 2022 census questions and enables us to monitor equalities data against census data. Specifically, it supports more detailed analysis of disability data and, for the first time, asks questions about language use. At this stage the data is indicative only. This is because

• technical issues in updating the form meant that only three quarters of 2022—23 data were reported (1 July 2022 to 31 March 2023)
• the census data has not yet been published so the population evidence is drawn from the Scottish Government’s equality evidence finder. As the 2011 census is now out of date, these are estimates from a variety of sources.

The SPSO equality form is completed voluntarily by users. It was encouraging that just over 53% of people completed the form, and that there were good completion rates for individual questions. This means that for the larger categories we can take a reasonable degree of confidence that our data is representative of our users as a whole.

The data shows that our users, when compared to the population data, appear to be

• more likely to be from minority ethnic groups (10% (5% Scotland))
• more likely to be female (57% (51%))
• more likely to identify as disabled (51% told us they have a long-term condition that limits their day to day activities – the closest comparators are 34-47%)
• more likely to be aged 44-64 when bringing us a public service complaint (47% (27%))
• more likely to be aged between 25-44 when applying for a welfare fund review (72% (37%))
• more likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or other (8% (2-4%)
• 80% of people completing the form did so on their own behalf with one in five either being completed by someone representing someone else (16%) or with help from someone else (4%).
• a small minority (under 20 users) told us their gender was different to that registered at birth (this category includes non-binary).
• 75% of SWF applicants who completed the form said a long-term condition limited their ability to undertake day to day activities, with 48% saying they are limited a lot.
• the condition most frequently reported by applicants was mental health condition.

In the new categories, 6% told us English was not their main language and less than 1% (80 users) said they could use BSL.

The data we collect is important in helping us better understand our users and their needs, and informs how we design and deliver our services. It informs our strategic plan (one of four strategic themes is accessibility) and on an annual basis, our business plan. When we make a policy decision, we consider the impact on equalities and this data is used as part of our equality impact assessments.

While the current report is for only part of the year, and we have not yet had the opportunity to compare it directly to census data, we recognise the approach is a strong model for future trend and opportunity analysis. Throughout the annual report, we have highlighted practical examples of how we are improving accessibility to our services.

Financial position

Financial overview

Expenditure area £000

Sources of funding £000

Review of financial performance

We are required to produce annual accounts detailing the resources acquired, held or disposed of during the financial year and the way in which they were used. The SPSO has been appointed as Accountable Officer and is responsible for the preparation of these accounts.

The following sections provide a summary from the accounts. For information about how we managed our finances, please see our full financial statements. Previous statements are published on our website here https://www.spso.org.uk/finance

Our finance processes and procedures are published on our website here SPSO Policies

Resource outturn

During 2022-23 we secured additional fixed funding to recruit additional resources specifically to address the backlog of public service complaints cases that had built up during the pandemic period. Additionally we secured Scottish Government funds to begin the process of setting up a child-friendly complaints process across the Scottish public service, in line with the UNCRC legislation.

People costs represent 79% of SPSO’s total operating costs, with year-end highlighting an overspend to budget of £64k. This is mainly due to maternity cover costs.

Fees and expenses paid to firms were £84k less than planned. This was mainly due to a reduction in the use of external professional advice for casework. ICT overspend was due to the requirements of additional software licences following the increase in staff numbers and move to electronic working.

The Shared Accommodation expenditure was below budget mainly due to the continued underuse of the building as organisations return to a new working model delivering services remotely, following the pandemic.

In 2022-23, we delivered £21k in savings. Most savings came from property costs due to the underuse of the shared accommodation.

Pay performance

We operate a prompt payment policy in line with our values of being fair and acting with integrity. We track our payment performance against the 10 and 30 calendar-day targets. Only two payments were over 30 days in the financial year, due to being new payees which are only added to the bank account from within the office to maintain good financial controls.

Payments slowed at the beginning of 2020-21 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, but have continued to improve during 2021-22. Good financial governance and processing, including appropriate controls and separation of duties were maintained.

Resources required for 2021-22

The 2023-24 budget has been approved by the Scottish Parliament with revenue resources totalling £6,708K.

Of these, £80K will be generated for the SPSO budget through provision of casework related training services (charged at cost recovery, not for profit).

Looking forward

We start 2023-24 in better shape in terms of workload, than we did 2022-23. Investigation times are coming down and our unallocated cases project means we are not carrying a large backlog of work. This is important to us because it is important to our stakeholders. Delays in handling cases was the main cause of dissatisfaction with our service in 2022-23 and we have worked hard to address it.

As with 2022-23 we have set ourselves an ambitious business plan which can be found on our website. Although ambitious, it is achievable if resources and workload remain constant and as planned. Some of the business activity is carried forward from last year. This reflects the uncertainty of our operating environment and it is a credit to my office that we delivered over and above our statutory functions. We will continue to manage, monitor and publish (quarterly) progress against plan.

Our business activity is routed in our strategic themes, aims and values. in the coming year, our overarching themes are

• developing stakeholder relationships and accessibility
• efficiency
• identifying and reporting impact
• supporting and developing our staff

Ongoing commitments

We will:

• focus on improving accessibility of our services, particularly for people in vulnerable situations; this includes implementation of a health complaint online form
• continue to develop and support good complaint handling by Scottish public services through our training provision and Support and Intervention Policy
• further review our approach to risk management, particularly risk appetite given our wide range of functions, and increasing threats to cyber security
• maintain our excellent performance in delivery of the SWF review service and contribute to the development of the Scottish Government’s SWF guidance
• deliver our public service complaints service, endeavouring to meet our customer service standards and performance targets, while achieving good outcomes for complainants and driving public service improvement. This will focus on further reducing the number unallocated complaints and reducing the time taken to decide complaints, and continuing to develop a more resolution based approach
• develop and pilot child friendly complaints approaches in anticipation of the incorporation of the UNCRC into Scots law
• refine and deliver our INWO service, particularly in relation to supporting organisations to develop a speak-up culture
• develop our future strategy for 2024—2028
• maintain and support staff health and wellbeing
• continue to develop our approach to data management and cyber security
• work with stakeholders across all our functions, supported by a clear communication and engagement strategy
• manage the organisation efficiently and effectively to achieve value for money

Rosemary Agnew Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
22 September 2023