Even then I suspect the true number of active but unresolved SCs is much higher as there appears to be a reluctance to log them on JPA. I am aware of cases that have been open for over 3 years before someone actually got around to recording them! This could be avoided if the subject was allowed to annotate the SC on their own JPA account, but clearly this level of transparency is too much for HM Forces and we rely on the single Services to actually log complaints so that their own performance can be monitored. Even when complaints are logged on JPA they are typically entered using the current date, rather than the actual date the complaint was raised at Level 1. The system is rotten to the core and has become an embarrassment to many in the chain of command who genuinely want to see the system work...
@Just This Once...
My bold. I am very concerned but also surprised if there are delays in recording complaints on JPA on the scale which you appear to suggest.
For one thing, how do delays of as much as 3 years in logging the receipt of a complaint relate to the normal 3-month time limit under JSP 831 for the complainant to lodge their complaint in the first place?
If what you say is true, I also wonder why more complainants are not themselves drawing attention to the discrepancy, or to the delay itself? It would surely be an open goal for them.
And why no-one involved at any stage of the complaint's consideration is pointing out the obvious and glaring discrepancy?
Thanks in anticipation of reply. As some will know I have been involved in calls for a real service complaints ombudsman, and I am no defender of faults in the present system, but I cannot act on criticisms unless I am confident that they are factually justified.