Complaints
against
the Church

Who can make a complaint?

Complaints can be made by anybody who has made a Safeguarding Service Complaint directly to a Catholic diocese, eparchy or religious institution about the way it handled their original complaint.

Complaints must be brought to the CSSA as soon as possible after receiving a final response from the church body that handled the original complaint. We will only consider a complaint if it is made within 6 months of the person complaining receiving a final response from the church body.

If the person complaining is running out of time to bring their complaint to the CSSA, they can contact us for further advice. We will look at the reasons for not bringing the complaint sooner, how much time has passed since the person complaining received a final response, and whether it is possible to carry out an investigation.

What types of complaint are not eligible for investigation by the CSSA?

This is not an exhaustive list but the CSSA will not consider:

• complaints that the church body being complained about hasn’t had the opportunity to look into and respond to;

• complaints where the church body internal complaints process has not been exhausted, unless the church body, complainant and CSSA agree the CSSA should investigate a complaint which has not been through or has not exhausted, the church body’s complaints process;

• issues raised by individuals who have not been directly affected by the matter being complained about (unless from somebody nominated by the complainant to act on their behalf);

• complaints that do not come under the scope of the relevant church body’s complaints policy.

• complaints about the service delivery of a third party. These must be addressed to the agency concerned.

• grievance, capability, or disciplinary matters which must be dealt with using the church body’s internal processes;

• complaints unrelated to the provision of a safeguarding service;

• reports of abuse which are to be referred to statutory agencies and the relevant Church body and are therefore not investigated under this procedure.

• whistleblowing[1] which must be dealt with using the church body’s processes;

• complaints against clergy and members of a religious institution who are employed by an external agency/organisation under a civil contract or who offer their services  to such an agency voluntarily, against whom there is a complaint in relation to their employment or voluntary work within that agency. These complaints must be addressed to the agency concerned;

• concerns or complaints relating to safeguarding in organisations outside the church body, which must be addressed to the organisation concerned;

• subject access requests or complaints about the misuse of personal data which must be referred to the church body’s Data Protection Officer and/or the Information Commissioner’s Office.

• complaints where there are concurrent legal processes in relation to the complaint; these will be considered once legal processes have concluded.

_________________________
[1] Whistleblowing is the term used to refer to the internal or external disclosure of malpractice as well as illegal acts, or omissions, at work.

How to make a complaint to the CSSA

Complaints can be made by letter, email or telephone and must set out what the complainant is unhappy about and when their original complaint was concluded by the Church body that investigated it.

Emails can be sent to: qualityassurance@catholicsafeguarding.org.uk

Letters can be posted to:
Quality Assurance Team
Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency
c/o 39 Eccleston Square
London
SW1V 1BX

Telephone: 0207 901 1920

Please also use this telephone number if you would like to speak with Quality Assurance team about whether your complaint is eligible for consideration under the CSSA complaints policy and procedure.

How the CSSA will manage complaints

When we receive a complaint we may need to contact you to get some additional information or to clarify some points. We will do this within 20 working days of receiving a complaint.

We will speak with the church body being complained about to check whether they have had the opportunity to consider your complaint, and to check whether there are still stages of their complaints process that you can use.

If the complaint has not been considered by the church body, or the church body complaints process has not been concluded, we will refer the complaint directly to the church body being complained about.

In reaching our decision about whether we can investigate a complaint, we will consider what can be achieved by an investigation, including the outcomes sought by the person complaining. If nothing can be achieved for the complainant by the CSSA, then we may decide not to investigate.

The person complaining, and the church body, will be informed of our decision to investigate.

If we are proceeding, we will appoint an investigator who will speak with the person complaining to confirm what the investigation will focus on. The investigator will also speak with other relevant persons such as within the church body, or witnesses.

What recommendations can be made by the CSSA?

The CSSA can make recommendations as follows:

What the CSSA can recommend

• That the church body acknowledges what went wrong and apologises to the complainant.
• That the church body takes relevant action to prevent a similar situation occurring again e.g. that learning takes place or local policy and procedures are reviewed and revised.
• That the church body looks again at its decision, if the CSSA finds that in reaching it, it did not follow its procedures, that information was not properly taken into account in the decision being reached, or that a conclusion wasn’t supported by the available evidence.
• That there is no further action because the complaint is not upheld.

What the CSSA cannot recommend

• That individuals are disciplined, suspended or have their employment terminated.
  That compensation is paid.
• That a particular policy or procedure is adopted, unless it exists within the national safeguarding policies and procedures manual.
• That the church body makes a different decision.

The complainant and church body will receive the final decision and what the CSSA expects the church body to do to put things right. The CSSA will follow up to see if recommendations are carried out.

The CSSA will not make recommendations where the church body has acted properly and the CSSA has not identified any learning points.

Appeals

Within 6 months of receiving the outcome, the person complaining can appeal to the CSSA where new and significant evidence is provided. The appeal must be initiated within 6 months of the CSSA decision. The appeal will be conducted by a committee of the CSSA board.

Unreasonable behaviour and malicious complaints

Our presumption is that complaints are made in good faith. However, sometimes people making complaints may seek to use our procedures unreasonably, inappropriately or in ways that are malicious, or intended to cause distress, disruption, or nuisance. In these situations, time spent on dealing with the complaint becomes disproportionate.

For complainants who are deemed to contact the CSSA unreasonably, excessively, and because of the frequency and nature of their complaints cause a significant level of disruption to the extent that it impedes other work, measures may be put in place such as specifying the method and frequency of any ongoing contact and ensuring that there is a single point of contact for complainants.

Raising a complaint does not in itself constitute unreasonable behaviour and neither does escalation through the complaints procedures, or criticism of the complaints process.

FAQs

Q My complaint is being dealt with the diocese or religious congregation but it is taking a long time. Can the CSSA help speed up the complaints process if the church body isn’t responding quickly enough?

A Complainants can contact the CSSA if they are in the process of having their complaint dealt with by the diocese or religious institution, but they are not meeting the timescales that they said they would; the CSSA will approach the diocese or religious institution to assist the complainant to achieve resolution with the church body. The CSSA will ask about the reasons for delay and where appropriate, provide early intervention and recommend how to proceed. The complaint remains the responsibility of the diocese or religious institution and the CSSA is not investigating at this stage.

Q Can I nominate somebody to make a complaint on my behalf?

A The CSSA will accept complaints from somebody nominated by the complainant to act on their behalf. The complainant must notify the CSSA in writing, providing the name and contact details of the nominee and giving explicit permission for the CSSA to communicate with this person as if they were the complainant.

Additionally, a representative can complain on a person’s behalf where that person:

• is a child;
• lacks mental capacity, as assessed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005[1]
• has appointed a person as a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for health and welfare;
• has an appointed Independent Advocate; or
• has passed away (and there is sufficient information to enable an investigation to proceed).

Q Will the CSSA consider anonymous complaints?

A Anonymous complaints will always be considered but it may not be possible to fully investigate or resolve complaints where the complainant cannot be contacted for further information.

Q How will the CSSA ensure that I am treated fairly and that diversity is respected?

A The CSSA will not treat you less favourably than anyone else because of your:

• sex or legal marital or same-sex partnership status: this includes family status, responsibility for dependants, and gender (including gender reassignment, whether proposed, commenced or completed);
• sexual orientation;
• colour or race: this includes ethnic or national origin or nationality;
• disability;
• religious or political beliefs, or trade union affiliation; and
• any other unjustifiable factors, for example language difficulties, age, pregnancy, and maternity.

Q Will my complaint be kept confidential?

A We will handle all complaint information sensitively and in accordance with data protection legislation. We will need to share information with people who need to know in order that the complaint can be investigated. If this includes contacting another person or organisation, we will ask for your consent to share relevant information with them. If consent is withheld, it may not be possible for the CSSA to investigate the complaint.

[1] Lacks capacity to make a specific complaint.