The Independent Complaints Reviewer Annual Report 2007-2008

Jodi Berg is the Independent Complaints Reviewer (ICR) for the National Archives. The ICR is not part of TNA's management and is not a civil servant.

Mrs Berg is a solicitor, a mediator and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She has held Board positions in the private, public and not for profit sectors. She established the ICR office in 1998. The office currently reviews complaints about 7 public bodies.

Introduction from Jodi Berg - Independent Complaints Reviewer

I am pleased to present my Annual Report for 2007-2008. I was appointed to establish an independent service for the investigation of complaints made about The National Archives by people and organisations dissatisfied with the response received to their concerns. I also advise on the operation of TNA's internal complaints procedures. By offering the opportunity of independent review to its customers, TNA recognised the contribution that this can make to public confidence and towards raising standards of customer care and satisfaction.

TNA is an organisation that has a strong customer service ethos. Given this, unsurprisingly, the quality of its complaint handling is of a very high standard. Most people find that staff sort out any problems that arise in a helpful way. When this is not possible, the complaints team take their concerns seriously and do whatever they can to resolve matters. As a result very few people find it necessary to seek my help and advice. Even fewer people ultimately refer complaints to me for investigation. This year we were able to offer appropriate guidance to all those who approached us and point them in the direction of the complaints team, but I have not had cause to carry out a thorough investigation of any complaint. Once again I am able to congratulate TNA for its performance in this area during the reporting period.

What is the ICR's role

The aim of the ICR office is to provide an impartial and effective complaints review and resolution service for complainants and to make a positive difference for TNA in the future. The office is managerially independent from the TNA and our service is free to its customers. The service is available to anyone who has been through TNA's internal complaints procedure but remains dissatisfied with the response and/or redress provided. The provision of a wholly independent final stage of complaint review, provided by a professional complaint handling service underpins TNA's willingness to be accountable to its customers.

The ICR role is to settle complaints about poor or inappropriate service, either by conciliation or adjudication. We investigate and identify whether TNA has provided a satisfactory service in line with its own policies and procedures, or whether there have been failings such as mistakes, delays, unfairness or discourtesy. Each complaint issue is addressed in an unbiased way, seeking a fair outcome for all involved.

People who contact our office can expect us to respond with courtesy; honesty; respect; objectivity and flexibility. We communicate with everyone in straightforward language and in ways that meet their needs.

There are certain complaints we cannot examine. These include:

Initially we try to resolve complaints by agreement between TNA and its customer, as this generally results in a quicker and more satisfactory outcome for all parties. We ask complainants what they would like TNA do to put matters right. If further investigation is required, we keep complainants informed as to progress and issue a written report once all the evidence has been fully considered. If a complaint is upheld the report may recommend:

If complainants are dissatisfied with the outcome of the investigation, they may ask their MP to refer the matter to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

Customer Contact

In 2007-2008, 97 complaints were received by TNA, an increase from 77 in the previous year. The low number of complaints demonstrates the quality of TNA's service when compared with the volume of customer contact during the year. Last year this contact was as follows:

These figures demonstrate a significant increase in visits and documents supplied compared to last year reflecting the success of providing records online.

New Initiatives/Issues

During the year I noted several changes to TNA service that had the potential to cause complaints. These included:

The transference of this service, including facilities, records equipment and staff from Islington to Kew was a major undertaking. Extensive redevelopment and improvement works were carried out in order to begin the new consolidated service at the beginning of April. Throughout the project, consultation and the involvement of staff and users of the service was crucial to meet their expectations as far as possible. Currently TNA are actively seeking feedback from all concerned on how people felt things had gone. Lessons learnt from this project are being used to inform the next major undertaking being planned, which is the refurbishment of the Map and Large Document Room.

Currently the breaking down and categorizing of data on complaints is not comprehensive. TNA are now in the process of developing a system to analyse and report in greater depth on the types of complaints received. This will strengthen their existing processes to ensure stronger customer relations in the future.

Access to the ICR Office

There are a variety of ways a customer can contact this office:-