The Independent Case Examiner Website

The Independent Case Examiner

The ICE Annual Reports for 2010-2011 are now available.

Independent Case Examiner's Annual Reports and Reviews 2010-11.

The Independent Case Examiner John Hanlon The Independent Case Examiner's purpose is to act as an independent referee for people who feel that the following Government Agencies or Businesses have not treated them fairly or have not dealt with complaints in a satisfactory manner. The Agencies/Businesses are:

the Child Support Agency
Debt Management
Pension, Disability and Carers Service
the Financial Assistance Scheme
Jobcentre Plus (including most Work Provider services)
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division (Northern Ireland)
the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency
Independent Living Fund

Complainants can approach the Independent Case Examiner's office after they have received a final reply to their complaint from the Agency/Business, which they consider to be unsatisfactory.

It does not cost you anything to make a complaint to the Independent Case Examiner, and the service is open for anyone to use. You should not need to employ professional or other representatives to help you, but you can do so if you want, at your own expense. We are happy to deal with your professional or personal representatives when asked, but we would not usually ask the Agency or Business to pay their fees or other expenses

John Hanlon is the Independent Case Examiner (ICE). His role is to examine complaints made about these Agencies/Businesses, by service users. Mr Hanlon is not a Civil Servant and is not part of the management of any of the Agencies/Businesses. The service provided by his office is free to complainants.

Mr Hanlon is a lawyer who has undertaken a wide range of non-executive, advisory and independent roles, including as Regulator of Community Interest Companies and as a Commissioner for the Scottish Care Commission. He has significant experience of mediation, arbitration and determination of complex issues. He has worked successfully with a number of large organisations within both public and private sectors.

Judging the issues without taking sides

ICE at work The Independent Case Examiner aims to make a difference to the lives of individuals through the fair examination of their complaints by acting as a catalyst for change to improve the customer service of the Agencies/Businesses with which we are associated.