§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what external routes of complaint have been established for each part of the Government service covered by the charter.
§ Mr. WaldegraveFor the purpose of this question I am taking "external routes of complaint" to mean the provision by public services covered by the charter of a route to deal with complaints which is separate from the management hierarchy of the service. Those which are known to my Department are:
- Benefits Agency War Pensions Unit: War Pensions Committees;
- British Gas: Gas Consumers' Council and OFGAS;
- British Rail: Area Transport Users' Consultative Committee (co-ordinated through the Central Transport Consultative Committee);
- British Telecom: OFTEL with recourse to a service provided by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators;
- British Waterways Board: British Waterways Ombudsman; 14 Electricity Companies: Electricity Consumers Committees and OFFER;
- Home Office Immigration and Nationality Department: Complaints Audit Committee;
- Housing Corporation: Housing Association Tenants Ombudsman Service;
- Inland Revenue: Revenue Adjudicator;
- Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce: Agency Complaints Adjudicator;
- London Buses and London Underground: London Regional Passengers Committee;
762 - Department of National Savings: Adjudicator for National Savings;
- Police Service: Police Complaints Authority (England and Wales);
- Procurator Fiscal Service (Scotland);
- Post Office: Post Office Users' National Council with recourse to a service provided by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators;
- Probation Service: Area Probation Committees;
- 32 Water companies: Regional Customer Services Committees and OFWAT.