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In some circumstances, it can currently take up to 4.5 months to conduct an initial assessment for some complaints, particularly if they are complex. We are doing everything we can to reduce this time. You can find average timescales for each stage of complaint handling across all types of complaints here.

Public appointments advisers

We oversee a selection of public appointments by assigning a Public Appointments Adviser (PAA).

PAAs are appointed by the Commissioner and are answerable to them for their professional conduct and competence. They do not answer to Ministers or their directorates, nor to any of the public bodies. The Commissioner decides on the appropriate level of oversight for an appointment based on a range of factors, including the body’s budget and its functions. Depending on the level assigned, the PAAs provide oversight during planning only or as full selection panel members. More details are included in the guidance on application of the Code.