We have a number of minimum standards that we expect to follow when dealing with administrative matters in respect of individual cases or management issues generally.

They include:

• We aim to acknowledge all correspondence (letters and emails) within 3 working days of receiving it. Addressing substantive points may take some time, particularly in respect of ongoing cases or when there is a high volume of information to consider, but we will always try to send you a full response within 15 working days or let you know when it is likely to take longer.
• We aim to give you a timely response to your telephone enquiries. If you telephone our office and no-one is available to speak to you, we aim for someone to return your call within 3 days.
• If we decide that we have to meet you about your case we will make the necessary arrangements, but in most cases we do not need to see people in person. We cannot deal with visitors to our offices without appointments agreed by us in advance. Certain issues can only be considered by specialist members of staff, and we must make sure that they are available and ready to deal with them.
• In all our contact with the public we aim to be polite and professional. Although we accept that some people who contact us might be frustrated or upset, we will not deal with anyone who behaves in an abusive way. We have a policy for dealing with unacceptable behaviour from users, available from our office and website. For security and training purposes, we may monitor or record telephone calls.
• We always try to set out our views clearly, avoiding jargon if possible. We welcome feedback from users of the Service on how we may improve communication or anything else we do.