HMS Westminster hosts service complaints ombudsman team

On a bright Tuesday morning in HMNB Portsmouth and as part of a wider visit to the dockyard

HMS Westminster hosted 15 members of the Service Complaints Ombudsman (SCO) team.

The purpose of the visit was for the group to gain an insight into the daily routine of the RN in order to aid them when dealing with complaints.

The team were met at the gangway by Lieutenant Jen Taylor (Navigating Officer) before touring the ship, visiting the Flight Deck, Hangar, Bridge and SCC taking in briefs from personnel on all aspects of life on-board and in the wider Royal Navy and provided an opportunity for the SCO team to talk with various members of the Ship’s Company with varying levels of experience. 

The visit was an enormous success and a fantastic opportunity for Westminster’s crew to engage with the SCO team.

ETWE(CIS) McGowan said “It was good to meet the team and I now have a better understanding of how they work.

“Most of them came on board with limited knowledge of a warship. They were extremely interested in our working patterns and learning more about the different watches we keep.”

The role of the Service Complaints Ombudsman is to provide independent and impartial scrutiny of the handling of service complaints made by members of the UK Armed Forces.

Find out more about the Service Complaints Ombudsman at www.servicecomplaintsombudsman.org.uk