Service First
We aim to deliver the following standards of service:
Grant, studentship and fellowship applications
We will send an acknowledgement to applicants within four working days of receipt of their applications. In addition, we will inform all applicants of the period within which they can expect to receive a decision on their application.
General correspondence
We will answer correspondence (which requires a response) whether by letter, fax or e-mail, within 15 working days. On occasions where it may take longer to provide an answer, we will give a clear indication of when a response can be expected within the 15 day period.
Providing information
We will provide contact details (address, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address and web site address) on all external correspondence and on our website.
Consulting users
We will consult users regularly as part of our normal business processes, through our system of peer review and advisory committees and occasional town meetings.
Complaints procedure
We will operate a transparent and fair complaints procedure.
Monitoring and reporting
We will report on our performance in meeting these service standards in our annual report and on our web site.
General
We uphold high standards of integrity in all areas of the Councils operation, in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. To this end, we operate a code of conduct for all of our staff and for Council members.
We comply fully with the requirements of current data protection legislation, in particular that personal data will only be used for stated, agreed purposes and that it will not be disclosed to a third party without the data subject’s consent.
We follow the guidelines set down in the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information in providing information to external sources on request.
Council Complaints Procedure
We are committed to providing a high quality, accessible and responsive service. However, if you believe that things have gone wrong, please send us your complaints and comments. We will take them seriously.
Please note however, that the following types of complaint are excluded from this procedure:
- Complaints which amount to a disagreement with a decision of the Council or the advice of one of its advisory bodies; and
- Matters which are the subject of litigation or legal proceedings.
How to make a complaint
You can make your complaint, which we will treat confidentially, in writing, by phone, fax or e-mail.
We ask that you first try to resolve your complaint with the Council employee directly involved or responsible for the issue. If you are not able to do this, either because you do not know the appropriate person or you are not satisfied with the outcome, please send your complaint to:
To help us deal with your complaint, it would be helpful if you could provide the following information:
- The section of the Council relevant to your complaint, with a contact name if possible
- Whether this is a first-time complaint or a follow-up to an earlier complaint that was not dealt with to your satisfaction
- A clear description of the complaint and what you would like us to do to sort things out
- Your full contact details, including a phone number, fax number and e-mail address, if you have these.
What happens next?
We will investigate the circumstances of your complaint and provide a full explanation within 15 working days of receiving your complaint. If this is not possible we will explain why and give you a date by which you can expect a full reply.
If you are not satisfied with our reply
If you are not satisfied with our reply you should write to:
-
Professor Keith Mason
STFC Chief Executive
Polaris House
North Star Avenue
Swindon
SN2 1SZ
Tel: 01793 442 000
Fax: 01793 442 106
Ombudsman
If you have gone through our complaints procedure and you are still not satisfied, you have the right to refer the matter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (the Ombudsman). You have to make your complaint to the Ombudsman through an MP.
More information about the Ombudsman is available at the following address:
Page last updated: 27 January 2010
by John Sullivan
