4. Written evidence from the Local
Government, Health Service and Welsh Administration Ombudsman
I was appointed in October 2003 as Local Government
Ombudsman for Wales, in November 2003 as Health Service Ombudsman
for Wales, and in November 2004 as Welsh Administration Ombudsman.
Remuneration is paid as the Local Government Ombudsman only.The
relevant statute provides in each case that the Ombudsman shall
hold office until the end of the year of service in which he attains
the age of 65.
The various Ombudsman offices are each governed
by separate, albeit broadly similar provisions. These separate
statutory frameworks make it very difficult at present to offer
the seamless service which I would wish, even though the offices
have been brought together under a single postholder.
In addition to investigating complaints about
local government bodies, the Local Government Ombudsman has the
role of investigating allegations that councillors (including
community councillors) may have breached their council's statutory
code of conduct. The Housing Act 2004 empowers the National Assembly
to confer on the Local Government Ombudsman the additional function
of acting as Social Housing Ombudsman for Wales in respect of
housing owned by housing associations.
In 2003-04, the number of complaints made to
the Ombudsman under the various jurisdictions was as follows:
| Local government complaints
| 629 |
| Local government allegations of breach of code
| 183 |
| NHS complaints | 209 |
| WAO complaints | 64 |
| |
I set out in my annual reports for 2003-04 as Local Government
and Health Service Ombudsman my vision for the integrated Public
Services Ombudsman service. I reproduce that statement here for
the assistance of the Committee:
A FIRST CLASS
OMBUDSMAN SERVICE
The primary role of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
is to investigate complaints made to him by members of the public
about the way they have been treated by a public body. Complaints
will be investigated independently and impartially, and when upheld,
the Ombudsman will say what the public body should do to make
amends to the complainant and impress the need for improvement
in its standard of service in the future. He will also promote
good administration and high standards of conduct by investigating
allegations that local authority members have breached their own
authority's code. Lessons learned from investigations will be
publicised, along with those experienced by other ombudsmen.
Service to the individual member of the public
The Ombudsman expects public bodies to treat people fairly,
considerately and efficiently. When people consider that they
have been badly treated, the ombudsman service must provide an
easily accessible means by which they can be heard. Their complaints
must be looked into independently and impartially, and if upheld,
fair redress must be given.
To assist in the delivery of a first class service, the Ombudsman
is keen that all his staff should be well motivated and have the
right training to meet both the needs of the service, and the
demands of the public.
Outreach/Awareness
A large proportion of the population have little or no idea
of the existence of the Ombudsman service—still less of
what it might be able to do for them in time of need. The Ombudsman
service must be made accessible in practice to vulnerable and
disadvantaged members of society, including the black and minority
ethnic community.
Impartial and efficient investigation
When a formal investigation is appropriate, it will be carried
out impartially and thoroughly, although the Ombudsman will be
concerned to bring matters to a conclusion as soon as possible.
Informal resolution
Where it is helpful, informal resolution and speedy redress
will be sought for any complainant, so long as an informal approach
does not compromise the wider public interest.
Securing proper redress
When the Ombudsman upholds a complaint, he will be vigorous
in seeking redress which is fully proportionate to the harm suffered
by the complainant.
Alertness to wider implications
When they are investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman's
officers will remain alert to the possibility that it may not
be an isolated case and that other individuals may have suffered
in a similar way. If so, the Ombudsman will be proactive in seeking
similar redress for those people.
Promoting good administration
In order to secure better service for the individual citizen,
the Ombudsman may give guidance on good administrative practice
to bodies within his jurisdiction. This will be done sparingly
and only after consultation with the bodies concerned, drawing
not only on experience in Wales, but also from other ombudsman
schemes.
The Ombudsman will ensure that allegations of breach of the
code of conduct for local authority members are investigated rigorously
but proportionately.
I welcome this Bill and I am grateful to have been consulted
during its drafting. In unifying the current ombudsman statutes
the Bill usefully streamlines and modernises the statutory framework,
much of which has remained unchanged since 1967. In particular
the Bill's provisions will:
— Make it more likely that complainants are
aware of their right to go to the Ombudsman, and make it easier
for them to do so.
— Make it easier to deal flexibly and relatively
speedily with those cases where the public interest does not require
a formal public report.
— Facilitate collaboration with other ombudsmen
and with the Children's Commissioner for Wales.
— Enable a "one-stop shop" for complaints
about most public bodies in Wales, and joined-up consideration
of complaints which affect more than one public body.
In that last regard, I am particularly keen to be able to
consider synoptically complaints about the actions of multi-agency,
multi-disciplinary teams which are common nowadays in fields such
as care in the community. This is one area where I do feel that
the drafting of the Bill as it currently stands may be capable
of improvement. I very much welcome therefore the commitment given
by Lord Evans of Temple Guiting during the Second Reading debate
in the House of Lords to consider "whether the Bill can be
improved by express provision to ensure that, in health and social
care, the Ombudsman can look across the scene at complaints about
the consequences of decisions made by social care professionals
who are working alongside clinical colleagues."
Adam Peat
Ombudsman
4 January 2005
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