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The Office of the Disability Appeals Officer

Complaints Procedures

Office of the Disability Appeals Officer Procedures for dealing with Complaints under Part 3 of the Disability Act 2005 (Access to buildings and services 2010)

Procedures in relation to the making and investigation of complaints.

Under Section 38 of the Disability Act 2005 (“the Act”) a person can make a complaint in writing to the head of a public body in relation to the failure of the body to comply with the following sections of the Act;

  • Section 25 (Access to public buildings),
  • Section 26 (Access to services provided by a public body),
  • Section 27 (Accessibility of services supplied to a public body) and
  • Section 28 (Access to information)

The head of a public body may authorise an officer or officers of the body to perform the functions of inquiry officers and when a complaint under Section 38 of the Act is received the complaint is referred to an inquiry officer for investigation. If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of their complaint they can appeal to the Ombudsman, as provided for under Section 40 of the Act.

Section 39(2) of the Act states that “The head of a public body shall draw up procedures in relation to the making and investigation of complaints and such other matters relating to complaints as he or she considers appropriate and shall cause the procedures to be published”.

The following are the procedures drawn up by the Disability Appeals Officer in accordance with Section 39(2) of the Act.

Complaints Procedure in relation to the Disability Appeals Officer .

  • Any person can make a complaint in writing to the Disability Appeals Officer if she has failed to comply with sections 25, 26, 27 or 28 of the Disability Act 2005.
  • Such a complaint can also be made on behalf of a person by any of the following people referred to in section 9(2) of the Act i.e.;
    • A spouse, a parent or a relative of the person
    • A guardian of the person or a person acting in loco parentis to that person
    • A legal representative of the person, or
    • A personal advocate assigned by Comhairle to represent that person.
  • Complaints should generally be made to the Disability Appeals Officer. However, any member of her staff receiving a complaint will notify the Disability Appeals Officer upon receipt of the complaint.
  • All complaints will be logged by the staff member who receives the complaint and the complaint will be referred to the Disability Appeals Officer.
  • The Disability Appeals Officer will authorise a member of her staff to act as an Inquiry Officer to investigate the complaint. As required under the Act the Inquiry Officer will act in an independent capacity.
  • An investigation by an Inquiry Officer will not be conducted in public.

Acknowledging, Registering and Screening Complaints.

  • The Inquiry Officer will acknowledge receipt of the complaint as soon as possible but no later than five working days after receipt. The Inquiry Officer will open a paper file for each complaint and also maintain an electronic file in relation to the complaint.
  • The Inquiry Officer will screen the complaint to confirm that it relates to an alleged failure by the Disability Appeals Officer to comply with one or more of the relevant sections of the Act i.e. sections 25, 26, 27 or 28. If it does not the Inquiry Officer will inform the complainant and where possible provide advice on alternative avenues of redress. If it is the opinion of the Inquiry Officer that the complaint is frivolous or vexatious the complainant will be notified and advised of his/her right of appeal to the Ombudsman.

Request for files, reports and/or further information.

  • The Inquiry Officer may request further information/details from the complainant and, if deemed necessary, may consult with all relevant members of the Disability Appeals Officer’s staff, and if required with other parties regarding the complaint.
  • Information which the Inquiry Officer requests should be submitted to him/her as soon as possible but no later than two weeks from the date of the request. If a response is not received the Inquiry Officer may issue written or telephone reminders as deemed necessary. In the absence of a submission from the complainant the Inquiry Officer will proceed with the investigation.

Conducting Interviews.

  • When investigating a complaint the Inquiry Officer may consider it necessary to interview the complainant or members of the Disability Appeals Officer’s staff.
  • Such interviews will be arranged in advance.
  • All members of the Disability Appeals Officer’s staff are obliged to cooperate fully with the Inquiry Officer’s investigation.
  • A written record of interviews will be maintained and at the end of each interview the notes will be checked to ensure that the written account is accurate.

Examining the case and recording findings.

  • The Inquiry Officer will examine all of the information received and make a record of his/her findings.
  • Unless the Inquiry Officer is of the opinion that the complaint is frivolous or vexatious he/she will investigate the complaint.
  • The Inquiry Officer will prepare a written report of the results of this investigation and set out his/her findings and a determination in relation to:
    • Whether there has been a failure by the Disability Appeals Officer to comply with the relevant provision of the Act, and
    • The steps required to be taken by the Disability Appeals Officer to comply with the relevant provision of the Act where it is determined that such a failure has taken place.

Where possible this report will be completed within 21 working days from the date of receipt of the complaint. However, where required information is not readily available the report will be completed as soon as possible.

Notification of findings and Decision.

A copy of the Inquiry Officer’s report will be given to the complainant and the Disability Appeals Officer.

The complainant should be advised of his or her right of appeal to the Ombudsman as provided for under section 40 of the Disability Act 2005.

If the Inquiry Officer determines that the Disability Appeals Officer has failed to comply with a provision of the Act his/her report will outline the steps required for compliance.

Closing a Compliant.

When the complainant has been given a copy of the Inquiry Officer’s report the complaint file may be closed.

Both the electronic and paper file will record the result of the investigation, the date the file is closed and any other relevant information.

The Inquiry Officer will provide an annual report, including complaint statistics, to the Disability Appeals Officer on the operation of the complaints procedure.