Statutory consumer body Consumer Scotland has published a new report recommending greater transparency in how customer complaints are reported in the Scottish water sector.
While complaints data is routinely published and used to drive improvements in other regulated sectors - including energy, communications, financial and the water sector in England and Wales - Scottish Water does not currently publish a similarly detailed or accessible breakdown of customer complaints.
The Drinking Water Quality Regulator and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman do report on complaints and investigations, but these are either limited in scope or focus on only a small number of formal cases.
Consumer Scotland’s new report highlights the fact the current situation limits the ability of consumers, regulators and stakeholders to understand performance, identify recurring issues and hold service providers to account.
The report sets out a number of recommendations for the Scottish Government, Scottish Water and the wider sector to strengthen the approach to water complaints reporting in Scotland including:
- The Scottish Government to consider placing the publication of water complaints data in Scotland on a statutory footing
- Scottish Water to lead by example by voluntarily publishing more detailed complaints data on a quarterly and annual basis
- Scottish Water to improve accessibility of complaints data through user-friendly formats and non-technical summaries
- Enhanced data sharing and collaboration between organisations such as the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman to support performance monitoring
- Embedding complaints data into regulatory processes and service design to ensure it informs policy and operational decisions
Head of Water for Consumer Scotland Gail Walker said: “Providing public access to comprehensive and transparent complaints data is essential to
ensure accountability and deliver better services for consumers.
“Across different regulated sectors the publication of complaints data captures where services fall short, how effectively providers respond and how consumer engagement drives positive change.
“By improving how complaints data is published and used, bringing it in line with other sectors, Scotland’s water sector can build trust, deliver better outcomes and ensure that consumers are central to service delivery.”
Consumer Scotland is engaging with key bodies in the water sector to explore how a shared approach to greater transparency over complaints data can be developed.
Background
Consumer experience - customer complaints
Consumer Scotland is the statutory body for consumers in Scotland established by the Consumer Scotland Act 2020. It is the levy-funded advocacy body for the water sector.