Complaints Within Constraints: A Critical Review and Analysis of the Citizen's Charter Complaints Task Force

Abstract

In June 1993 a Task Force within the Citizen's Charter Unit of the Cabinet Office initiated a review of complaints procedures in public sector organisations. Its work included an appraisal of private sector complaints handling practice to see if there were any lessons that could be usefully applied to the public sector. Its Main Report (1995) contained a number of interesting observations, some of which appear to challenge the logic of the structural reforms to the public sector. Effective complaints mechanisms require that all complaints, including those pertaining to policy, need to be dealt with by those who deliver services. A commitment to implementing the Task Force's recommendations would have resource implications and would involve changes in organisational culture and management style including the empowerment of front-line personnel. In terms of empowering citizens however, the Task Force's impact is likely to be minimal due to the constraints within which delivery agencies operate.