Complaints and comments about the Scottish Legal Aid Board

We want to hear your views about our service. We’d like you to tell us

• when we’ve done something well
• about anything you think we could do better, and
• when things have gone wrong.

It is important to us to keep improving the legal aid system, and your comments and experiences can help us do this.

1) What you can complain to us about

Our complaints procedure is for complaints about how we do our work.  It covers, for example:

• complaints about our staff – perhaps you feel that someone you saw in our office, spoke to on the phone or who wrote to you was unhelpful or rude
• complaints about the service that we provide – perhaps you feel we were slow or inefficient, or we gave you wrong or unclear information.

It does not cover:

 - asking us to reconsider decisions about applications for legal aid (see later)

 - complaints about solicitors, advocates or the courts (see later) 

2) What you can expect from us

We want to give you the best service we can by:

• always treating you with courtesy and respect
• respecting your right, and that of others, to confidentiality
• helping you if you have any special needs
• working hard to meet our published service standards and performance indicators.

You can find service standards on this website or ask us for a copy – our address is on the last page of this section. These standards set out what you can expect from us, including how long it takes us to deal with a case, at various stages.

We aim to get things right all the time – but occasionally, we do make a mistake or take too long. If there’s a problem, the sooner you let us know, the sooner we can do something about it.

3) How we handle complaints

If you complain about the service we provide –

• we’ll look into the complaint honestly, thoroughly and fairly, and as quickly as possible
• we’ll treat it seriously
• we’ll be polite and helpful
• we won’t deal with your application for legal aid any differently, simply because you have made a complaint
• we won’t discriminate against you for any reason (such as your colour, race, nationality, religion, age, sex, sexuality, disability or marital status).

4) How long it takes to deal with complaints

We try to deal with complaints as soon as possible. If we can’t deal with your complaint immediately –

• We’ll tell you, within seven calendar days, that we’ve received it, and which area of the Board is dealing with it
• We’ll write to you with a full response within 28 calendar days.
• If it is going to take us more than 28 calendar days to look into your complaint, we’ll write to you explaining why, and when you can expect us to send you a full response.

If you ask us to review the complaint, the same times apply.

5) Putting things right

When something goes wrong, we try to sort it out quickly and fairly. If we are at fault, we will –

• accept responsibility and say sorry
• explain what went wrong, and why
• try to put it right as soon as possible
• use the lessons we learn from your complaint to improve our service.