Complaints procedure
How to make a complaint about the Environment Agency’s service, or appeal against a regulatory decision.
Standards of service
The Environment Agency has published their customer service commitment. This shows what you can expect from them.
A complaint is defined as a strong expression of dissatisfaction about our ways of working, decisions, policies and procedures or our staff, that may require investigation and action.
We will not investigate complaints:
- about government policy or law
- that have already been investigated
- that are currently being investigated by the ombudsman or the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP)
If your complaint relates to an Freedom of Information Act (FOI) or Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) request - go to make a freedom of information request for further information or email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk.
How to complain
If you’re unhappy with the service the Environment Agency has provided, you can:
- send an email to enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk
- call them on 03708 506 506
- write to them at:
General enquiries
National Customer Contact Centre
PO Box 544
Rotherham
S60 1BY
Email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk
Telephone 03708 506 506
Telephone from outside the UK (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm GMT) +44 (0) 114 282 5312
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
What happens next
The Environment Agency will investigate your complaint. If they’re at fault, they will try to put things right. If not, they will provide a full explanation. They will deal with your complaint as quickly and thoroughly as possible, but timescales will depend on the complexity of the complaint.
The Environment Agency complaints procedure has 2 stages. If you remain dissatisfied after stage 1, you can escalate your complaint to stage 2.
Escalate a complaint (stage 2)
If you’re not happy with the Environment Agency’s response to your complaint, let them know. They will escalate it to a manager to review and write to you again.
If you’re not satisfied
If you’ve been through both stages of the procedure and remain dissatisfied, you can refer your complaint to the relevant ombudsman or the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP). The Environment Agency will explain this to you in their final response.
Contact the ombudsman
The ombudsman is independent of the Environment Agency. They will only consider complaints after the Environment Agency has had the chance to resolve them and you have gone through the complaints procedure.
For complaints about flood defence and land drainage issues, contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Telephone: 0300 061 0614
For complaints about all other aspects of work, you can complain through your local MP to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Telephone: 0345 015 4033
Contact the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP)
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) is independent of the Environment Agency. They will only consider complaints after the Environment Agency has had the chance to resolve them and you have gone through the complaints procedure.
The OEP can look at complaints relating to a government body’s failure to implement or comply with environmental law.
Email: enquiries@theoep.org.uk
Telephone: 03300 416 581
Appeal a regulatory decision
If you disagree with a regulatory decision the Environment Agency has made, you can appeal and ask them to review it. You can also report when they have not followed the Regulators’ Code.
Victims’ Right to Review
In cases where the Environment Agency is the regulator, and they have decided not to prosecute an offender for a criminal offence, an identified victim can sometimes ask them to review that decision. This is only in certain circumstances. To find out what these circumstances are, you can email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk.
Normally they know the identity of victims and will ask them if they want a decision not to prosecute to be reviewed. A victim must tell them within 5 working days if they do want that decision reviewed.
Complaints about mismanagement, charges or licensing
You can contact the Information Commissioner if you’re unhappy with the way the Environment Agency has:
- managed your request for information
- charged for or licensed your re-use of information
Telephone: 0303 123 1113