This project has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council to develop transformative approaches to social care complaint handling in Scotland.
The project builds on earlier scoping work (involving a desk review and stakeholder workshops) examining complaint handling systems used in social care and social housing across Great Britain.
The current project has involved setting up the Scottish Adult Social Care Complaints Policy Lab to develop and enhance policy and practice in relation to social care complaint handling. The Policy Lab brings together key stakeholders to work collaboratively on developing solutions to complex problems of public policy and practice.
In setting up the Policy Lab, we held a series of workshops and meetings in the course of 2025 with service users, advice and advocacy organisations, social care service providers, ombudsman offices, and regulators. You will find the outcomes of these workshops on the “workshops” page.
The Policy Lab meet on seven occasions between 2025 and 2026. You can find out about the outcomes of the Policy Lab’s work on the documents page where you will find:
- A final report
- A policy brief
- A guidance document for adult social care providers
- A summary of the guidance for individuals
- A self-assessment tool for organisations
Scottish Adult Social Care Complaints Policy Lab 