Memorandum by Lt Col (retd) C. J. Piper
(LGO 06)
In principle the Local Government Ombudsman
Service has its origins in a sensible and genuine attempt to provide
redress for the electorate in offering some protection against
both maladministration and injustice. As with all public institutions,
the system not only has to work properly, and in a free and an
unbiased manner, but it must be seen and understood to do so.
Whether justifiably or not, the LGOS in this
area is not seen to be an evenly balanced operation—favouring
neither the administration nor the public. There have been cases
which reflect an overwhelming concern within a community, but
which on the face of it appear to have been conducted with an
exaggerated bias towards the planning officials and authorities,
at the expense of either the individual or of the community.
There is a need for the public to be kept aware
of all representations to LGO and of the reasons why the LGO decides
that any case is dropped because the LGO decides that there is
no injustice —even though the public at large may have very
strong views on what it considers to be a clear case of maladministration.
Similarly, there should be a legal requirement to publish notice
of all referrals to LGOS and to do so for all decisions reached
by them. There is an unnecessary element of secrecy which gives
unreasonable cover behind which local authorities seek cover.
Allegedly we have an open society and new found
access to information under the Freedom of Information Act. Let
us be seen to be fair and let us be able to call for an unbiased
degree of access to the workings of the unelected bureaucracy
that governs our lives under a cloak of secrecy that is mostly
unwarranted.
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