3. Written evidence from the Welsh
Local Government Association
PURPOSE
1. To present the Association's response
to the development of legislation on the future of Ombudsmen's
service in Wales and the Committee's enquiry into the Public Services
Ombudsman (Wales) Bill (HL).
BACKGROUND
2. The Welsh Assembly Government has previously
issued a consultation paper concerning the provision of Ombudsmen's
services in Wales. They sought views on a number of specific issues.
The main element of those proposals was to amalgamate all four
Ombudsmen's services in Wales into one body. This would replicate
the situation in Scotland with the creation of the Scottish Public
Services Ombudsman in October 2002 (SPSO). The WLGA responses
to the specific questions raised by that consultation are included
at annex one which has been approved by our Coordinating Committee.
It should be noted that the WLGA were broadly supportive of this
approach and this was endorsed by our members.
3. Since that consultation the Assembly
government has also published its vision for public services in
Wales "Making the Connections: Delivering Better Public Services
for Wales". In this setting the WLGA believes that the proposal
to amalgamate the service sits within this contextual sphere and
that philosophy behind this would be fully supported by local
government.
4. Merging structures, however, might create
greater efficiency but is not a guarantee of greater effectiveness
for the public in terms of assurance. As a result the need for
the new service to become more citizen centred is fundamental
to the new approach. Social justice must be at the heart of Welsh
public policy but it is clearly the case that large parts of the
Welsh public have scant understanding of the precise role of this
office and its terms of reference.
5. Local government does much to highlight
the Ombudsman role to its customers particularly in terms of complaints
procedures but there is the need for a significant awareness raising
which must be an aspiration at the heart of new service as it
develops. This was confirmed by last years survey undertaken by
MORI for the Parliamentary, Health Service and Local Government
Ombudsmen in England where just under half of people surveyed
say they have heard of the Health Service (45%) and Local Government
(44%) Ombudsmen. This is higher than awareness of the Parliamentary
Ombudsman (37%). But public recognition is much higher for Citizens
Advice Bureaux (94%), the Police Complaints Authority (72%) and
OFSTED (69%).
BILL PROPOSALS
AND ISSUES
6. The Bill as currently framed makes provision
about the functions of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales,
and to allow the abolition of the Commission for Local Administration
in Wales and the offices of Welsh Administration Ombudsman, Health
Service Commissioner for Wales and Social Housing Ombudsman for
Wales.
7. The Association has consulted Welsh Local
Government on this issue and responses are broadly in favour of
the suggested changes. The pivotal role of the Local Government
Ombudsman in the new Standards and Ethics regime in Wales is such
that any proposed changes should not be detrimental to local government
and the people it serves. In terms of local government the Ombudsman
has two main roles.
— The first, under the Local Government
Act 1974, is to investigate complaints from members of the public
that they have suffered injustice as a result of maladministration
by local authorities in Wales. A number of matters are outside
the Commissioner's jurisdiction: these include personnel issues
and commercial and contractual disputes other than those related
to the sale of land. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate
complaints where the complainant has an alternative remedy for
his or her grievance by way of an appeal to the National Assembly
for Wales, a government minister or to a particular tribunal or
through legal proceedings in a court of law.
— The Local Government Act 2000
made it a legal requirement for serving local authority members
to undertake to comply with their authority's code of conduct.
Under the Act, the Ombudsman has powers to investigate allegations
that members of local authorities in Wales have failed to do so.
Anyone can make an allegation and the Ombudsman's jurisdiction
to investigate the allegation is not restricted in the same way
as his jurisdiction to investigate complaints of maladministration.
The Ombudsman has, nevertheless, a discretion whether to investigate
an allegation or not, and he can discontinue an investigation
at any stage.
8. The relationship between Welsh Local
government and the Ombudsman is generally good and undertaken
with efficiency. It is characterised by rigour although there
are also examples within the current standards regime where the
existing code of conduct for members has placed some strains on
the relationship not least of all because of a lack of clarity
in the current framework. This is currently subject to review
and has concentrated upon on bringing sharper definitions to factors
such as what constitutes a personal interest, the applicability
of the code in other settings beyond the council environment and
disclosure of interests.
9. In service areas levels of complaints
have declined in recent years and in particular the number of
complaints upheld has fallen. Information from the Local Government
Ombudsman's office is set out below. The majority of these complaints
fall into the service areas of planning and housing.
Number of complaints received:
| 2002-03 | 806
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| 2003-04 | 722 |
| 2004-05 | 505 (to date) |
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Number of complaints upheld:
| 2002-03 | 13 |
| 2003-04 | 2 |
| 2004-05 | 4 |
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10. We accept that the problem with this type of analysis
is that it does not always reflect increased satisfaction but
can signal some frustrations with the "system" and a
belief that the impact of a complaint may not be worth the input
required to make it. In this respect it is vital that the first
point of contact for a complainant provides in most cases the
necessary redress and local authorities have invested considerable
resources in recent years in the establishment of customer contact
centres and one stop shops.
11. The development of the Freedom of Information Act
2000, which has been welcomed in local government, will also be
a new area which will see developing practice over time particularly
in terms of how councillor activities are covered by the Act.
There are grey areas around which parts of members work are caught
by Act the council policy is covered but their work with constituents
is not unless subsequently raised with the council machine in
relation to policy.
12. Bearing in mind the above factors it is vital that
the new management structure of the Public Services Ombudsman
office retains a clear local government flavour with specialised
knowledge of our services. To stress we are not seeking a "college"
based approach which would appear externally as one organisation
but be based on clear internal demarcation. The Local Government
Ombudsman, Adam Peat makes the point in his Annual Report 2003-04
about the advantages of an integrated service and the establishment
of a new office, of which we are fully supportive. We do need
however more information around the new management arrangements
to ensure, that local government interests and that of complainants
are well served.
13. The merger of four Ombudsman offices in Wales will
bring together bodies that deal with a range of public complaints
and their investigation. As stated the proposals to merge these
into one structure reflect broader thinking in terms of "joined
up" provision of services. The main advantage of any form
of one-stop shop is that it provides a simpler means for members
of the public to make complaints.
14. The consultation paper by the Scottish Executive
produced in 2000 on "Modernising the complaints system"
set out a further range of advantages which are worth repeating.
Firstly, regardless of which public service the complaint is against,
all complaints are made to the same place and information on how
to complain is available from the same source. Secondly, it helps
to avoid the confusing situation where some bodies are covered
by two different Ombudsmen, there is often confusion over cross
boundary complaints in areas such as delayed transfers of care
which jointly effect both local government and health. Thirdly,
it enables the arrangements for submitting complaints to be standardised.
Finally, because there is, at least from the outside, only one
organisation dealing with all public service complaints, it will
tend to have a higher profile and be easier to draw to the attention
of the public
15. Other perceived advantages of the change would be:
— Greater legitimacy with public bodies.
— In line with the concept of an integrated Welsh
public service.
— As more services are based on partnerships
it is increasingly difficult for members of the public to determine
where they should direct their complaints.
16. This also will allow for a more responsive structure
for the people of Wales and it is envisaged by the document, a
better service. For local government key issues will be the maintenance
of the full independence of the Ombudsman's office, the primacy
of the Local Standards Regime to ensure local accountability and
the existence of a dedicated Deputy with lead responsibility for
local government.
OTHER MATTERS
17. The WLGA welcomes the separation of the staff of
the Ombudsman service from the Civil service as this will send
a clear signal regarding their autonomy and independence.
18. This process should bring greater clarity to the
remit of the ombudsman service and a greater public understanding
of how to resolve complaints of maladministration against public
bodies.
19. This new combined office should see improved efficiencies
and pooled resources and expertise, the WLGA would therefore not
expect to see additional costs incurred. We have written this
year to the Ombudsman's office as a consultee about future costs.
20. The funding of this new body should be proportionate
to the cases made and work involved in each of the public bodies
the new Ombudsman will oversee and as a result the WLGA would
not expect to see a resultant growth in local governments contribution
via the RSG.
21. It is the view of the Association that the Ombudsman
should regularly report to the Partnership Council and the Co-ordinating
Committee to ensure awareness of local government concerns and
issues particularly in relation to the Members Code of Conduct.
22. The Association would also seek an annual scrutiny
meeting with the Public Services Ombudsman where key issues of
concern to local government can be raised.
11 January 2005
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