The Scottish Government

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What do we do?

The Scottish Executive is the devolved government for Scotland. It is responsible for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of Scotland, including health, education, justice, rural affairs, and transport. The Executive is led by a First Minister who is nominated by the Parliament and in turn appoints the other Scottish Ministers who make up the Cabinet.

Scottish Executive civil servants are accountable to Scottish Ministers, who are themselves accountable to the Scottish Parliament. In addition there are a number of other Departments and Executive Agencies for which Ministers have a degree of responsibility.

The Scottish Executive aims to provide high-quality services and information for all our customers and this leaflet sets out the standards of service people can expect when contacting staff in the Scottish Executive.

We continually look for new ways to improve our service and if you feel that we are falling short of the standards set out in this leaflet, please let us know. Contact details are available at the end of this leaflet.

On every occasion you come into contact with the Scottish Executive you are entitled to expect a prompt, helpful and courteous service from our staff, who should always identify themselves to you.

If you telephone us we will:

• Answer all calls promptly (usually within 5 rings).
• Greet you politely and clearly - our staff will tell you their name and the name of their branch or team.

If we cannot deal with your enquiry immediately, we will:

• Transfer calls directly to the appropriate member of staff; or
• We will arrange for you to be telephoned back by the next working day or at a later point if that is agreed with you.

If you are unsure of who to telephone:

• Please contact our Central Enquiry Unit on 08457 741 741 or textphone 0131 244 1829.

If you write to us by letter, e-mail or fax, we will:

• Reply to you as quickly as possible and within 20 working days of receipt.
• Use plain English and avoid the use of jargon

If for any reason we cannot send a full reply within 20 working days, we will:

• Send an interim reply, within 20 working days of receipt of the original letter explaining the reason for the delay; and
• Indicate when you can expect to receive a full reply.

If you ask for information, we will:

• Send you the appropriate information within 20 working days of your request. In most cases this information will be free but we will tell you about any charges before the information is sent to you.

If we are unable to supply the information we will explain why:

• Further information about your rights under Freedom of Information ( FOI) is available from the Executive's FOI web pages at www.scotland.gov.uk or from the FOI Unit on 0131 244 5210.

If you visit our offices, we will:

• See you within 10 minutes of any appointment you have made in advance

If you visit one of our offices dealing with public enquiries without a prior appointment, we will:

• Arrange an appointment with a member of staff, within 15 minutes, to ensure that you are seen at an appropriate time in the future.

Request concerning personal data

If your request is about accessing personal data, further information about your rights under the Data Protection Act is available from the United Kingdom Information Commissioner.

Phone 0131 225 6341
E-mail: scotland@ico.gsi.gov.uk
Website: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

If things go wrong

As Civil Servants our values are:

• integrity and honesty • objectivity
• political impartiality • fairness

If, however, you feel you have grounds for complaint in the way we operate our standards of service, processes or procedures, please let us know. This will help us put things right for you and allow us the opportunity to make changes that will improve the way we do business.

Wherever possible, you should try to resolve your complaint with the person who has dealt with your enquiry. If that does not work you should ask for contact details of the person who manages the team you have been dealing with. You can make a complaint in writing, by email, by telephone or in person. We aim to resolve mistakes and misunderstandings quickly.

Where your complaint is a matter for the Scottish Executive, we will investigate it and aim to send a full reply within 10 working days of your complaint being received. If we need longer to resolve your complaint, we will send you a letter explaining the delay and telling you when you can expect a full reply.

If you are unhappy with our response, we will ask an independent manager to investigate your complaint further.

If your complaint is not directly a matter for the Scottish Executive, we will pass it on to the appropriate organisation for action and will let you know that we have done so.

Complaints Leaflet

The Scottish Executive has produced a more comprehensive leaflet on its complaint handling procedure. Copies of the leaflet are available from our Central Enquiry Unit on 08457 741 741.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

If you remain dissatisfied with the way your complaint has been handled, you should contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, who is entirely independent of the Government. The Ombudsman will normally only act once you have explored the other avenues of complaint described above. The contact details of the Ombudsman office are as follows:

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
4 Melville Street
EDINBURGH
EH3 7NS

Phone: 0870 011 5378
Fax: 0870 011 5379
Textphone: 0790 049 4372
E-mail: enquiries@scottishombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.scottishombudsman.org.uk

Complaints about policies and legislation

If your complaint is about Scottish Executive policy or legislation, you should make your representation to the Scottish Ministers through your local Member of the Scottish Parliament.

Complaints about appointments to public bodies

If you have applied for a public appointment and wish to make a complaint about any aspect of the process, you should contact in the first instance the relevant Department of the Scottish Executive who will investigate your complaint on your behalf.

If you are unhappy with our response, and if the appointment falls within her remit, you may wish to contact the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland. The Commissioner operates an independent complaints procedure dealing with potential breaches in the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies. Contact details are as follows:

Phone: 0131 718 6058
E-mail: info@ocpa-scot.org.uk
Website: www.publicappointments.org

CONTACTING US

GENERAL ENQUIRIES
Phone: 08457 741 741
Textphone: 0131 244 1829
E-mail: ceu@scotland.gov.uk
Website: www.scotland.gov.uk

Further copies of this document are available, on request, in audio and large print formats and in community languages, please contact:

Telephone 0131 244 2995