Complaints

Dissatisfied with the Treasury or one of our staff - here's what to do......

For questions about

  • government policy: write to your MP or one of the Treasury's Ministers.
  • Treasury services or staff: complain direct to us now.
  • access to Government information: follow the separate appeals procedures.
  • public appointments made by Treasury Ministers.

read on....

Writing to Ministers or Members of Parliament

The names, addresses and responsibilities of the Treasury's Ministers are on this website

Letters to them can be sent by post or fax. 

Your local library, council or citizen's advice bureau will give you the name or address of your MP. You can also ring the House of Commons 020 7219 3000, or their public information office on 020 7219 4272.

Complaints are normally dealt with within 15 working days. If they are not, we will let you know what is happening.

How to make a complaint

We treat any written or spoken expression of dissatisfaction with the service provided by the Treasury or a member of staff as a complaint. And we try and resolve it on the spot.

You can complain in writing, by telephone or face to face:

  • say what the problem is;
  • say what outcome you are looking for;
  • extra information on whether this is an initial complaint or a follow-up to an earlier exchange, with brief details, will speed up our response;
  • address a complaint to the person responsible. If you are unsure about who to talk to or write to, ring or e-mail the public enquiry unit

You may find it useful to jot down the points you want to make before calling, and record what was said, and the time and date.

Alternatively, simply write to:

The Correspondence & Enquiry Unit
2/W1
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ

Tel: 020 7270 4558 
Fax: 020 7270 5244
email: public enquiries

You will need to give your full name and postal address. Phone and fax numbers, or an e-mail address can also speed things up. Please ring to make an appointment for a face to face meeting.

How will your complaint be handled?

We will reply as soon as possible, within 15 working days at the latest, and offer to put things right as fits the case. We will inform you of progress if things take longer.

We treat all complaints seriously. They are recorded so that the whole department can learn from them and take action to improve its performance. We aim to resolve them informally whenever possible, but we will let you know who to get in touch with if you are still dissatisfied and want the matter investigated further.

We will not reply to rude or abusive emails, calls or letters.

Still not satisfied?

If you are not satisfied after a second response you should ask for the case to be referred to the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury - the head of the department. After that, you have the right to ask your MP to take your case up with the independent ombudsman - the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. Advice on this is available from the Ombudsman's office at this address:

Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

Millbank Tower
Millbank
London SW1P 4QP

Tel: 0845 015 4033
Fax: 020 7217 4160

Public appointments

If your complaint is about a public appointment, you may also take it up with the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Commissioner can investigate appointments made by Treasury Ministers to:

  • the Court of the Bank of England; 
  • Statistics Commission; 
  • the Royal Mint Advisory Committee on Design of Coins, Medals, Seals and Decorations;
  • Public Services Productivity Panel

The Commissioners address is:

Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments OCPA
3rd Floor
35 Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BQ

Tel: 020 7276 2625
Fax: 020 7276 2633
email: ocpa@gtnet.gov.uk

Access to Government Information

See link below for the HMT Code of Practice.

Government Information

If your application under the Open Government Code is refused or you think a proposed or actual charge is unreasonable, you may write to the Treasury seeking a review. If, subsequently, you are still not satisfied with the explanation or any charges, a complaint can be made through your Member of Parliament to the Ombudsman.

Other avenues

The following are other departments or agencies of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or are among the main providers of services to business and the public in which the Treasury has a direct interest. They have their own complaints procedures:

Internal links

External links

This complaints procedure can be made available in large print format, audiotape and in Braille if desired.

May 1999

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