Appendix—Government Response
The Government is grateful to the Committee for its
short report on Parliament and the Ombudsman, Fourth Report
of Session 2009-10, HC 107, published on 9 December 2009. This
letter forms the Government's response to the Committee's recommendations
set out in the report.
The MP 'filter'
The report highlights the issues around the operation
of the MP 'filter' mechanism in the Parliamentary Commissioner
Act 1967 which requires complainants to approach a Member of Parliament
about a complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. The Government
is aware that the Committee and the Parliamentary Ombudsman are
strong advocates for reform of the current arrangement.
The Government believes that the 'filter' mechanism
is recognition of the constitutional nature of the Ombudsman's
role as a 'servant' of Parliament. Members of Parliament hold
a range of views on this issue, and some Members feel very strongly
that the current arrangement is an important element of their
relationship with their constituents. The Government believes
that this is an issue of constitutional significance that needs
to be carefully considered in the context of the Ombudsman's wider
relationship with, and responsibilities to, Parliament. Therefore,
at this stage of the Parliamentary cycle, the Government does
not believe that there is scope to take this issue forward by
means of an amendment to the Constitutional Reform and Governance
Bill.
The Committee will be aware that, as part of its
response to the Law Commission's Consultation Paper on Administrative
Redress, published in July last year, the Government agreed
that there may be some merit in the Law Commission exploring further
the statutory frameworks governing the public sector Ombudsmen.
The MP 'filter' system would form part of that consideration.
Parliamentary debate
The Committee's report recommends that the Government
should commit to providing a three-hour debate, in government
time and on a substantive motion, on any future report by the
Ombudsman concluding that injustice has gone unremedied and laid
under section 10(3) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967.
As the Committee notes, section 10(3) reports are extremely rare,
and therefore generate considerable interest both within and outside
Parliament. As the Committee notes, it is already open to both
the Government and Opposition to table a substantive Motion to
enable the House to reach a decision on any report from the Ombudsman.
There are also opportunities for back-bench Members to initiate
a debate in the House or in Westminster Hall.
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