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Complaints Procedure

Introduction

The Department for Regional Development ("The Department") is a central Government Department in Northern Ireland and is responsible for strategic planning; transportation strategy; transport policy and support; ports and airports policy; roads and water policy.  Roads Service which is a business unit within the Department has responsibility for the provision and maintenance of roads.

Roads Related Complaints:

To make a complaint relating to the responsibilities of Roads Service, please go to Road Service Complaints.

Central Claims Unit

To make a complaint regarding the Department's Claims Unit go to Compensation Claims.

Equality / Freedom of Information Complaints

There are separate complaint procedures in relation to Equality and Freedom of Information  To make a complaint on the grounds of Equality or Freedom of Information, please Select the relevant link.

Complaints in respect of Other Functions

The procedure below explains how you can make a complaint regarding the remaining departmental functions, what standards you can expect when you do so, and what you can do if you are still dissatisfied.

The Department is committed to providing the highest standard of service to all its customers. Our aim is to get things right first time. However, if you are not entirely satisfied with any aspect of our service, please tell us and we will do our best to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

We will investigate your complaint, give you an explanation and make every effort to resolve the matter to your satisfaction. If we have made a mistake, or the problem has been caused by us, we will apologise.

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How to Make a Complaint

Informal Procedure

We aim to resolve your complaint quickly and you are invited to bring this to the attention of the person you have been dealing with. However, if you still feel dissatisfied after this attempt to deal with your complaint, you may initiate the Department's Formal Complaints Procedures.

Formal Procedures - Step 1

As a first step you should contact the Head of Central Management Branch (CMB) verbally, in writing or on our "online complaints form", giving full details of the complaint. Where you make a verbal complaint and this is particularly detailed, we may ask you to put the complaint in writing. This Officer will arrange for your complaint to be investigated and will aim to provide a full written reply within 15 working days of receiving it. If a full reply cannot be given within this timescale, you will be advised of progress and told when you can expect a full response.

You can write to the Head of CMB at:

The Head of CMB
DRD Central Management Branch
Room 4-13c
Clarence Court
10-18 Adelaide Street
Belfast
BT2 8GB.

Telephone: (028) 9054 1143
Fax: (028) 9054 0642
E-mail - cmb@drdni.gov.uk

Formal Procedures - Step 2

If you are not satisfied with the Head of CMB's reply you can contact the Department's Head of the Corporate Services Unit, again giving full details of your complaint.  The Head of the Directorate will review your case and respond within the timescales as set out in Step 1

You can write to the Head of the Corporate Services Unit at:

Head of the Corporate Services Unit
DRD
Room 417
Clarence Court
10-18 Adelaide Street
Belfast
BT2 8GB

Tel: (028) 9054 0180
Fax: (028) 9054 0642
Email: brendan.devlin@drdni.gov.uk

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Our standards

In all cases the Department will:

  • Acknowledge your complaint immediately. We will normally issue a letter of acknowledgement within three working days of receiving your complaint;
  • Treat your complaint in a confidential manner;
  • Carry out a thorough investigation;
  • Aim to provide a written reply to your complaint with a full explanation of the outcome of our investigations within 15 working days and, where this is not possible, let you know when a reply can be expected;
  • Apologise if we have made a mistake or if a problem has been caused by us;
  • Let you know what we have done to put things right.

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The Ombudsman

Our Complaints Procedure is not a substitute for your right to complain to the Ombudsman's Office. You should note, however, that the Ombudsman will generally expect you to have used all the steps of the Department's internal Complaints Procedure before accepting your complaint.

Your complaint must initially be referred to the Ombudsman by a Member of Parliament (MP) / Member of the NI Assembly (MLA).

You can contact the Ombudsman in any of the following ways:

In Writing:

The Ombudsman
Freepost BEL 1478
Belfast
BT1 6BR

Telephone:- 0800 34 34 24 (freephone) or (028) 9023 3821
Fax:- (028) 9023 4912
E-mail:- ombudsman@ni-ombudsman.org.uk

In person (between 9.30am and 4pm) at:

The Ombudsman's Office
Progressive House
33 - 37 Wellington Place
Belfast
BT1 6HN

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