Natural England is committed to giving high quality services. Despite this commitment, sometimes things do go wrong. When this happens, we want to know about it, and to put things right where we can.
We also like to hear any suggestions you may have about how our services are provided. We can use these to improve the way we work.
If you have a suggestion or a complaint, tell us about it and help us to help you.
Our complaints procedure:
Step 1: Contact the person who provided the service. We hope to sort out most problems on the spot. If you are not sure who to contact, speak to the Enquiry Service and they will give you the information you need.
Step 2: If you are not satisfied with our initial reply, contact the appropriate Team Manager, whose contact details will be given to you at Step 1.
Step 3: If you are still not satisfied with the outcome, contact the appropriate Director, whose contact details will be given to you at Step 2.
Our promise to you
We will investigate your complaint thoroughly and fairly.
If we are at fault, we will try to put things right as quickly as possible. If not, we will give you a full explanation.
If we cannot resolve your problem on the spot, we will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within five working days. The acknowledgement will say who is dealing with the complaint and when you can expect a reply.
We will then write and tell you the outcome of our investigation within 20 working days. Difficult complaints sometimes take a little longer to sort out. If so, we will keep you informed of what is happening.
From time to time we will follow up with you to check if the way in which we handled your complaint was appropriate. We appreciate you may not always be happy with the outcome but it is important for us to monitor how our processes are working.
and if you are still not satisfied
If you still feel that Natural England has not resolved the issue satisfactorily, you can ask any Member of Parliament to refer complaints about administrative actions by Natural England to the Parliamentary Ombudsman (also known as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration)
Postal address: Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP
Helpline: 0845 015 4033
Fax: 020 7217 4000
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk
E-mail: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Our service standards
Our service standards set out the minimum level of service you can expect from us.
Our website
This website, www.naturalengland.org.uk, provides more information on all our activities. As well as being a source of up to date information about us, the website also provides contact details for all our teams and gives you the opportunity to provide comments and feedback about us and our work.
Our Enquiry Service
Our Enquiry Service is the first point of contact for all general enquiries about Natural England and its work.
Recording and monitoring complaints
We welcome the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and to improve the services we offer. We will monitor the number and types of complaints, compliments and suggestions received, along with improvements we have made and will publish the details on our website.