Guidance

Complaints about Ofqual

Published 16 April 2025

Applies to England

Why Ofqual has this complaints procedure

Ofqual recognises the importance and value of having effective complaints handling processes in place. Our policy sets out our high-level framework . This procedure sets out how we handle complaints about Ofqual and the standards we will follow. It also aligns Ofqual with the UK Central Government Complaints Standards where appropriate.

We are committed to providing an excellent service in our dealings with members of the public, our stakeholders and the awarding organisations we regulate. We take complaints about the work we do and the people who work for us seriously. Complaints are an opportunity for us to put things right, learn from mistakes and to improve on what we do and how we do it.

How to make a complaint about Ofqual

Complaints we can deal with

We define a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction about the way in which we have carried out, or failed to carry out, our work and which requires a response from us.

If you wish to make a complaint to Ofqual about an awarding organisation, details on how to do this can be found in Complaints to Ofqual.

Before complaining to Ofqual

The types of complaints we would consider under this policy are generally about aspects of the service we have provided. This includes complaints about:

• mistakes or poor service
• unreasonable delay or failure to act
• unprofessional behaviour or conduct of staff
• bias or unfair treatment
• failure to follow our published policies or procedures without a reasonable explanation

 Some examples of where we may not be able to assist include:

• matters raised more than 12 months from the action complained about (please see below)
• issues where you disagree with our policies
• a complaint about the awarding bodies we regulate. We have a separate policy for complaints about awarding bodies
• matters or similar matters that have already been looked at or investigated under this policy or previously by Ofqual
• issues that are, or have been, the subject of or are related to, ongoing or potential regulatory action
• issues that are, or have been, the subject of or are related to, legal proceedings or potential legal proceedings, against us or a third party
• matters where, in our view, the outcome of our investigation is unlikely to make any material difference

When you complain to us, we ask that it is within 12 months of the action occurring. In some circumstances, we may still be able to investigate if you complain outside of this period, for example, because of:

• ill health
• a delay on the part of Ofqual

We will look at how much time has passed, and will consider factors such as:

• the reasons for the delay
• whether it is still possible for us to carry out an investigation
• what is fair to all parties in the circumstances

Awarding organisations wishing to complain about regulatory action taken, or organisations complaining about refusal of recognition, should use the appropriate process for seeking a review of the decision explained in the documentation concerning the regulatory decision. We will not investigate these types of complaints under this policy.

If, for any reason, we cannot deal with your complaint, we will write to you to explain why.

How to make your complaint

Some concerns can be resolved informally, and we would hope to deal with most matters in this way. However, we do acknowledge that some complaints will require a more formal approach.

We believe it is best to deal with things straight away. If you have a concern or a complaint, we encourage you to raise it with the person you have been dealing with or their line manager to achieve a resolution.

If we are unable to resolve your complaint informally, you can raise a formal complaint with us. It is helpful to receive your complaint in writing so that we have a clear understanding of the concerns you are raising. However, if you wish to make a complaint over the telephone, we can document your complaint and then write to you to confirm our understanding of your complaint.

You will need to provide us with some specific information to help us review your complaint:

• what you are complaining about
• when and where the events complained about happened
• what you think went wrong
• how this affected you
• what you would like done to put things right

If you have any documents to support your complaint, please include copies. Please do not send original documents. We will store any information you send us securely. We may need to share information you give us with others for the purpose of considering your concerns and to carry out our statutory functions. If you consider there are any sensitivities around the sharing of information, please let us know.

Advice and support in making your complaint

You may find it helpful to have support to make your complaint. Your local Citizens Advice may be able to give you information and advice. There are other organisations that may be able to support people in specific situations, such as:

• Age UK
• Independent Age
• Mencap
• Mind
• Rethink

Someone who represents you and makes a complaint for you is called an advocate. If you decide that you want an advocate to make a complaint to us on your behalf, when they contact us about your complaint, we will check with you that you’re happy for them to do this.

Make a complaint

Click on Submit a Complaint to tell us about your concerns and send us information securely.

If you would prefer to make your complaint in a different way, contact our Public Enquiries team. The Enquiries team can:

• support you with making a complaint online
• take details of your complaint
• provide an email address to send your complaint
• arrange for a complaints advisor to call you back

Public Enquiries

Ofqual
2nd floor, 1 Friargate
Station Square
Coventry
CV1 2GN

Phone number 0300 303 3344

The phone line is open on weekdays from 9am to 5pm except bank holidays.

To ensure Ofqual deals with all complaints equally and fairly, all complaints sent to other sections of Ofqual, including the Chief Regulator or board members, will be forwarded to the complaints investigation team for action under this policy.

What to expect

We take all complaints seriously, and if you complain to us, you will be told whether we are able to investigate your complaint.

If we can look at your complaint, we will:

• send you an acknowledgement within 3 working days, usually by email, but this may be by post or another method
• let you know within another 10 working days whether we can investigate your complaint or not
• write to you to summarise our understanding of your complaint
• give you the opportunity to clarify elements of your complaint
• write to you if we need more information from you

We aim to complete most cases within 40 working days. Some cases can be more complex and may take longer for us to make a fair decision. If a response will take longer than the stated timescales, we will keep you informed of progress, the reasons for any delay and when we expect to reply in full. We will keep you informed of our progress at least every 30 working days.

As part of managing your complaint we may contact you to ask for additional information. Where appropriate, we may appoint someone within Ofqual who has no previous knowledge or involvement in your matter, or other matters you may have raised, to investigate. Exceptionally, we may appoint an independent third party to investigate a complaint, for example in very complex cases.

We will then write to you setting out our understanding of the complaint, asking you to agree that the identified issues have been correctly summarised or to provide further clarification.

Rejected complaints

If we are unable to consider your complaint we will:

• explain to you why we cannot review your complaint
• suggest a relevant organisation who may be able to help you, if we can
• advise you of the next steps should you believe we have made the wrong decision

The investigation

We assess each case on its own merits. When we believe we have enough information to make a fair decision, we will send you the outcome of our investigation.

In some cases, we may share a provisional decision with you, and if we do, you will be able to provide comments at this point. We will write to you to confirm the outcome when our investigation is complete and after considering any comments we receive.

Where we can, we will explain what information we have relied on to make our decision. Sometimes we receive confidential or sensitive personal information which we cannot share with you. We will let you know if this is the case.

Possible outcomes

When we consider we have enough information to make a final decision, we will write to you with a full explanation. The letter will explain whether we have decided to uphold your complaint or not and the reasons why this is the case. If the matter is confidential, we may not be able to share full details with you. If this is the case, we will explain this.

The letter will also set out any remedy, where applicable. Any remedy offered will be proportionate and appropriate to your complaint. Examples of possible remedies could include:

• an apology
• an explanation
• action to prevent the same mistake happening again

What to do if you are not happy with the decision

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, or our decision that your complaint is not within the scope of this procedure, you can request an internal review. An internal review is when someone else, who hasn’t been involved in your case, reviews how we handled your complaint.

To make a request for an internal review, please email complaints@ofqual.gov.uk. You should submit this request within 10 working days of the date of our outcome letter. You should provide evidence to support your request.

In order for us to consider reviewing your case, you will need to clearly demonstrate one of the following:

1. We reached the outcome based on inaccurate information, and if we had accurate facts, this could change our decision.
2. You have new and relevant information that was not previously available, and which might change the outcome.
3. We overlooked or misunderstood parts of your complaint or did not take account of relevant information, which could change the outcome.
4. How the decision is not reasonable given the findings of your complaint.

We will tell you if your request meets the criteria above. If it does not meet the criteria, we will write to you and tell you why not.

We will tell you within 10 working days if your request meets the criteria for an internal review. A more senior member of staff who has not been involved in conducting the investigation will carry out the internal review. We aim to complete an internal review within 30 working days after we have accepted your request. We will let you know if it is likely to take longer.

The review will consider whether:

• the decision was thorough and fair
• all relevant facts were taken into account
• the conclusions and decision reached were reasonable and properly explained

If the review finds in your favour, the reviewer may make a decision on the complaint or recommend that the complaint is, or specific issues identified in the review are, re-investigated. In some cases, we may decide to fully re-investigate the complaint.

You will receive the outcome of our review in writing. Unless we decide to fully re-investigate your complaint, the decision of the internal review is final and represents the end of our complaints process.

If you think that the outcome of the internal review is wrong or if you do not agree with our decision not to conduct an internal review, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. The Ombudsman carries out independent investigations into complaints about public bodies.

Recording complaints

We log all formal complaints we receive so that we can monitor the types of problems, the best way to sort them out and how long we are taking to deal with them. This also helps us to consider how we can improve our own service delivery.

We publish an annual summary of activity in relation to complaints received about Ofqual, as well as those complaints accepted by the Ombudsman. This will not include any individual’s details.

Privacy statement

It is necessary for us to collect and hold personal information about you to investigate and administer your complaint. If you make a complaint to Ofqual, we will hold the information you provide to us securely and use it to help us to handle and process your complaint. For more information see our complaints privacy notice.

We wish to make our publications widely accessible. Please contact us at publications@ofqual.gov.uk if you have any specific accessibility requirements.