Service standards

When you contact HSE about biocides, your enquiry will most likely be responded to by the part of HSE that specialises in regulating biocides and other chemicals - the Chemicals Regulation Division (CRD). When responding to enquiries, CRD aims to achieve the general service standards set out below.

Courtesy and helpfulness

We will be courteous, helpful and accurate in our dealings with you at all times. We will avoid the use of technical jargon wherever possible. We will provide clear and straightforward information and advice that is appropriate to our role and responsibilities, and explain our understanding of the legal requirements that support our positions and actions.

Accessibility

We will do everything we can to make ourselves available to everyone needing our services, including those with impairment or disability. Please let us know how we can help.

Prompt response

We will answer all correspondence within a deadline of 10 working days of receipt. If we cannot provide a complete reply within that time for any reason we will contact you to let you know why and when you may expect a full response.

Meetings

Where we agree with you that the best approach is to meet, we will swiftly arrange a suitable date with you. We will keep the appointment to the time agreed. If, exceptionally, the intended person(s) is then unable to attend, we will provide an appropriate substitute(s) or, if you wish, arrange a new appointment at a time to suit all parties.

Confidentiality and public access to information

Within the limits of the relevant law, we will respect confidentiality wherever appropriate.

Find out how we handle your information under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in HSE's privacy policy statement.

Find out about your right to request information held by HSE, including CRD, under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) and Data Protection Act (DPA) and how to make an information requests on HSE's FOI webpage.

Complaints procedure

If you feel that the service you have received from us has fallen below the standards you would expect, please let us know, and we will take action to put things right.

You should initially contact the person in CRD you have been dealing with. If they cannot deal with the matter to your satisfaction, they will then treat your enquiry as a complaint and pass it to a more senior officer.

Your complaint will be thoroughly investigated and you will be sent a written response within 10 working days of it being received. If, however, we are unable to send out a final response within that timescale we will contact you to let you know why and when you may expect to know the outcome.

Most complaints are settled in this way. However if, following our investigation, you still feel that your complaint has not been resolved you can take the matter up under HSE's complaints procedure.