PCC survey suggests complainants happy with regulator

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A survey conducted by the Press Complaints Commission suggests that the majority of complainants are happy with the service provided by the regulator.

The study surveyed all complainants that received a decision between 1 July and 30 September 2011 and received 61 responses.

Respondents were given a choice between: very well; well; satisfactory; poor; terrible; and no opinion.

Asked overall how well their complaint was handled, the majority – 29 per cent – said it was satisfactory, and 74 per cent said the complaint was handled satisfactorily, well, or very well.

Of the four categories in which respondents were given the same options to assess the handling of complaints, the majority responded "satisfactory".

The overall results reflect positively on the commission's performance.

• 74 per cent of those who responded said that their complaint had been dealt with by the PCC either very well, well or satisfactorily;
• 84 per cent of people who expressed an opinion said our staff were either very helpful, helpful or satisfactory;
• 84 per cent of respondents said that they had been kept informed about the progress of their complaint either very well, well or satisfactorily by our staff;
• 70 per cent of people who responded to the survey felt that overall their complaints had been handled very well, well or satisfactorily.

Stephen Abell, director of the PCC, said: "We are pleased that the complaints work of the PCC is largely appreciated by those who come to us. More can always be done to improve the service. "As the PCC now commits itself to fundamental reform of the self-regulatory system, we also need to ensure that the business of meeting individuals' complaints continues to be done well." The survey comes at a time when, as Abell suggested, the PCC faces the potentially significant reform of its system. The Leveson inquiry, which began today, will look at the regulatory system of the press and report to the government before the end of September 2012. Correction: This article originally suggested that the PCC had surveyed 61 complainants who received a decision between 1 July and 30 September. But 61 was the number of responses the commission received to its survey, the number of complainants who received a decision during that period was higher.