Beth all eich cynrychiolydd ei wneud i chi?

Elected representatives can help you navigate the bureaucracy of government departments and public bodies. They can also help you get your case heard, and can sometimes even help you get a case resolved.

If you’re dealing with a government department or other public body, write to your representative explaining what you need solved, include any relevant supporting information (case numbers and so on) — and be kind to the staff who help you.

Using WriteToThem, you can check which level of representation (for instance, if you are in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland) is responsible for the issue you’re dealing with, and contact them directly. You can also use WriteToThem to find out who your local councillors are, and contact them if your issue is at a local level.

Asking your representative to help

If you are personally having an issue that involves central government departments or other public bodies, like immigration or benefits, you might want to ask your representative in the corresponding region to provide a coordinating role for you.

Correspondence from an elected representative’s office can go to the top of the pile, so if you have a case that has stalled, it might be just what you need to get an existing engagement further along.

In the case of a UK government department (e.g. the Home Office), you may wish to:

  • Ask your MP’s office to follow up on an existing case with the relevant body.
  • Ask your MP to forward a letter to, or set up a meeting with, the relevant minister or public authority. This might be in an extreme case, where you don’t have an open case, or where your case has been rejected.
  • Ask your MP to refer your case to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, which handles complaints of ‘maladministration’ by public bodies, such as government departments. The House of Commons Library has more information.

If you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, it may be a devolved body that you’re working with. In which case it will be your MS (Wales), MSP (Scotland) or MLA (NI) that you’ll want to work with.

Be kind to their staff

In all of these instances, it’s worth remembering that it’s not usually the elected representative directly that you’ll be working with, but their staff. Support staff are used to helping constituents navigate these kinds of bureaucratic systems, and so can offer advice as well as coordination.

However, they are extremely stretched, so please treat them with as much kindness and generosity as possible. It also helps if you can make your situation and your request crystal clear, so they have all of the information they need to go on.

Heard nothing back? See what to do if your representative doesn’t reply.