SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) Upheld

Scottish Prison Service

201600937 · Prisons › complaints handling · Decision date: 01 November 2016

Full Decision

Summary

Mr C complained about how his prison dealt with a PCF2 confidential complaint. PCF2 is the name of the form used to make a confidential complaint about a sensitive or serious issue. We found the prison failed to give Mr C reasons for not regarding his complaint as being about a confidential matter of an exceptionally sensitive or serious nature. The prison also incorrectly said that Mr C made no proposal about how his complaint could be resolved, when in fact he did. Given that the prison did not follow the instructions on the PCF2 complaint form or in the prison service complaints guidance, we upheld Mr C's complaint.

Recommendations

We recommended that Scottish Prison Service: remind relevant staff of the need to follow the instructions on the form and the prison service complaints guidance when dealing with PCF2 complaints.

Related reading

View Decision Report 201600937 as a PDF (11.9 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018