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Member Responsible for Complaints FAQs

This pages answers frequently asked questions about the role of a Member Responsible for Complaints (referred to as MRC) and how the role is positioned within an organisation.

About the role of a Member Responsible for Complaints (MRC)

Assigning the role of a Member Responsible for Complaints

How many MRCs can you have in an organisation?

Role requirements of an MRC

Information and data

  • What information should the MRC have access to?

    An MRC should be able to access all elements of the complaint functions within the organisation - including performance data, reports, investigations, case files and the team.

  • What data should the MRC expect to see in the complaints report they receive from the complaint operations team?

    We would expect a report prepared for the MRC to contain the following:

    • management information and data relating to performance including the Regulator for Social Housing Tenant Satisfaction Measures
    • team structure and future change proposals
    • complaints and other related policy and procedure
    • up to date self-assessments against the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code, and any other self-assessments the landlord is required to complete in response to Spotlight report findings or Good Practice
    • data on performance in key complaint categories – for example, repairs
    • any additional information necessary to undertake their role
  • What kind of information should be provided to the governing body?

    Paragraph 9.7 of the new Code sets out that as a minimum, governing bodies should receive:

    • regular updates on the volume, categories, and outcome of complaints, alongside complaint handling performance including compliance with the Ombudsman’s orders
    • regular reviews of issues and trends arising from complaint handling,
    • the annual performance report produced by the Ombudsman, where applicable
    • individual complaint outcomes where necessary, including where the Ombudsman made findings of severe maladministration or referrals to regulatory bodies - the implementation of management responses should be tracked to ensure they are delivered to agreed timescales and the annual self-assessment against the Complaint Handling Code for scrutiny and challenge

Statutory requirements

Engagement with residents

  • Should the MRC meet with residents to get their feedback on the service?

    It is not a requirement set out in the Code; however, it will help to perform the role effectively to meet residents and hear from them directly. Landlords should involve residents in the annual self-assessment and obtain feedback on their experience of the landlord’s complaints process.

  • Should the MRC work with resident scrutiny panels?

    Resident scrutiny panels are key for providing insight into complaints performance and a tool for service improvement. It is beneficial for an MRC to seek feedback from the panel if the landlord has one. There is no requirement for an MRC to attend scrutiny panel meetings, but it should consider the intel it provides.

Forums and networking

Further learning for landlords about the MRC role

  • How can the MRC access learning from the Housing Ombudsman to assist them in their role?

    The Housing Ombudsman provides a vast amount of learning from its investigations and reports through its Centre for Learning.

    An MRC can also access learning from the following:

    1. Individual cases – Ideally, the member Responsible for Complaints should be sighted on any complaints that reach the Ombudsman, not only when there has been a finding of maladministration or severe maladministration. This will aid learning from complaints and enable the MRC to track progress – we would expect this to be reported in the management information too.
    2. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) which sets out requirements for Scheme member’s complaint handling.
    3. Where we have issued a Complaint Handling Failure Order (CHFO) this is a determination that the landlord has failed to appropriately respond to a complaint or comply with the complaint handling obligations as set out in the Code.
    4. The Annual Complaints Review (ACR) provides sector performance data and comparators to similar landlord types. We also create individual landlord reports if a landlord receives 5 or more maladministration findings.
    5. Spotlight reports which deliver cross-sector recommendations and learning from complaints focusing on a complaint category. We encourage landlords to benchmark their organisation against the recommendations set out in these reports.
    6. Special investigation reports are investigations into specific issues or specific landlords. Whilst we might investigate an individual landlord's performance, other scheme members can take learning from these reports, and benchmark against the findings set out in these reports.
    7. Insight Reports are short thematic and/or geographically based reports proving insight into complaints that we are seeing referred to the service each quarter.