Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the complaints system for people raising concerns about care or a care setting.

By law, all health and social care services must have a procedure for dealing efficiently with complaints and those who have experienced poor-quality care have the right to complain to the organisation which provided or paid for the care. If an individual is not satisfied with the way a provider or local authority has dealt with a complaint, they may escalate it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. The Care Quality Commission also reviews how providers address complaints when reviewing how responsive and well-led a care home is, in addition to ensuring residents and relatives know how to raise concerns and feel they are listened to. We will keep the potential for further action to improve the complaints system under review.