Support and Intervention Policy

Our Support and Intervention Policy has been in place since 1 April 2019. The policy sets out how we will use our statutory powers in a structured way to promote improvement by encouraging good practice or addressing poor performance by an organisation under our jurisdiction. It offers clarity to public bodies regarding what to expect from us, how and when. 

In short:

• Support action under the policy, gives guidance and support to organisations to help them improve their practice or address poor performance.
• Intervention action is more formal and usually requires the public body to take specific action to improve performance in relation to complaints or whistleblowing concerns handling, handling of Scottish Welfare Fund reviews or engagement with SPSO investigations and reviews.

This does not replace the advice and feedback we give as part of our handling of complaints, nor does the policy prevent public bodies asking us for help and advice. We still encourage organisations to contact us if they need help in relation to complaint handling. 

The leaflets below give more detail about the policy and what it means for organisations.