What happens if an authority misses the deadline to answer me?
Nothing happens automatically — but avoidable delay is exactly what the Ombudsman exists to investigate.
Nothing happens automatically — the UK doesn't have a general rule that treats official silence as an approval, a refusal, or any other automatic outcome across the board. What does exist is the concept of "maladministration": avoidable delay by a government department or public body is explicitly recognised as a form of maladministration, and it's grounds for a formal complaint. The remedy isn't automatic, but the pathway to get one is well established.
What counts as maladministration
Maladministration isn't precisely defined in law, but official guidance consistently lists the same categories, and avoidable delay sits right at the top:
- Avoidable delay
- Failure to follow the department's own rules and procedures
- Refusing to answer reasonable questions
- Not telling you about your rights of appeal
- Discourtesy, or failing to properly apologise for errors
The escalation path
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Department's own complaints procedure | Most departments run a two-stage process, commonly around 20 working days per stage with a 5-day acknowledgement |
| 2. Still unresolved | You typically have around 28 days from the final response to request progression to the next internal stage |
| 3. Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman | Investigates injustice caused by maladministration in central government departments and agencies |
| 4. Referral requirement | You can't go to the Ombudsman directly — you must contact your MP and ask them to refer the complaint on your behalf |
The Ombudsman generally won't investigate until you've exhausted the department's own complaints procedure, though ongoing, unreasonable delay in handling your original complaint can itself become part of what you're complaining about.
What the Ombudsman can actually do
If maladministration is found and it caused you an "unremedied injustice," the Ombudsman sets out the steps the department should take to put things right. In most cases, this means something other than money — a corrected decision, an apology, or a specific process being followed properly. Financial compensation is treated as a final option, considered only when other remedies wouldn't adequately address the harm caused.
What to do while you wait
- Check whether the specific process you're dealing with has its own statutory deadline — Freedom of Information requests, for example, have a fixed 20 working days.
- If there's no fixed deadline, check the department's published complaints-procedure timescales, since most set out clear stage-by-stage targets.
- Once a reasonable timescale has clearly passed, submit a formal complaint about the delay itself, in writing, citing the specific dates involved.
- If the department's own process doesn't resolve it, contact your MP and ask them to refer the matter to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Is there a fixed deadline for government departments to respond to correspondence? It varies by department and type of request. Many departments publish their own complaints-procedure timescales (commonly around 20 working days per stage), and specific statutory deadlines exist for particular processes, such as Freedom of Information requests (20 working days). Ordinary correspondence doesn't have one universal statutory deadline across all of government.
How do I escalate a complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman? You generally need to have gone through the government department's own complaints procedure first. If you remain dissatisfied, you must contact your Member of Parliament and ask them to refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which investigates injustice caused by maladministration in central government departments and agencies.
Related questions
Official sources
Stuck waiting past a reasonable deadline?
Use Kibbo's Public Services & Administration tools to draft a formal complaint and your Ombudsman referral request.
Explore Public Services & Administration tools →