Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Accepted
Paragraph: 15
The Committee considers the objectives of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) Strategy for...
Conclusion
The Committee considers the objectives of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) Strategy for 2022–25 to be appropriate to achieve the aims of “becoming an even more modern and vibrant Ombudsman service”. This includes promoting greater awareness of the PHSO’s services, providing a high quality, empathetic and timely service, and continuously improving the organisation. We welcome the reference to international benchmarks in the Strategy for the first time, the emphasis on data, and the organisation’s plans to gather direct feedback from service users and members the public. However, while it is included in the 2022–23 Business Plan, the absence of any reference to how the organisation will cope with the ongoing impacts of Covid-19 and high levels of cases brought to the PHSO is regrettable. The ambition to promote awareness and accessibility of the PHSO’s role and service is positive and welcome, but the Strategy does not set out how the organisation would cope with potentially increased service demand.
Government Response Summary
The PHSO is absorbing an increase in demand for its service, and its plans for implementing the 2022-25 Corporate Strategy will drive efficiencies, enhance service, and ensure a user-focused approach by increasing efficiency, introducing new mechanisms, and identifying systemic cases.
Paragraph Reference:
15
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
PHSO is absorbing an increase in demand for our service. In the first half of 2021–22 enquiries to our service were 28% higher than during the same period in 2018–19. This is 8% above already anticipated increases funded through our settlement under the Comprehensive Spending Review. Our resources are also subject to cumulative inflationary pressures of £1.5m above the 2.5% agreed in the CSR settlement in 2023–24. PHSO’s plans for implementing the 2022–25 Corporate Strategy will drive efficiencies in the casework process as well as enhancing our service and ensuring that we are user- focussed in approach. To implement PHSO’s 2022–25 strategy, we are planning to: • Increase efficiency and improve capability to flex and respond to demand; • Introduce new mechanisms to allow us to respond appropriately to increases in demand; • Identify and progress systemic cases that may affect a wide number of people, recommending action that will put things right sooner, so people do not need to complain; • Implement technological solutions to improve service delivery, such as direct digital (online) access and updates, and digital recording and transcribing telephone calls; • Adapt the casework process to be more user-focused in the way we interact with service users, including direct input to process and policies; • Further manage demand through our work with organisations on embedding the Complaints Standards, which we expect to lead to more complaints being resolved locally and not needing to come to the Ombudsman. We are also reviewing corporate functions this year, including benchmarking against similar organisations, to look at how we can release resources to support delivery of casework. All of these initiatives should drive significant efficiencies. We believe that increased public awareness and accessibility will not result in further increased demand in the short to medium term. PHSO’s outreach and engagement work will be targeted to communities and groups which face the greatest barriers to complaining. This is to increase awareness of individual rights to complain, but in the first instance, any increase in complaints will be to front line services. We hope that these will then be resolved by the front line as more public services embrace the PHSO Complaints Standards. To understand this more fully, we are closely monitoring the impact of outreach programmes, which are also designed to derive other benefits such as understanding the systemic issues faced by underrepresented groups and understanding the barriers to complaining for these groups. It remains important that we can understand and respond to changes in demand, whether such changes are driven by increased awareness or other factors. It is also essential that we deliver change whilst putting people at the heart of the design and delivery of our service. This is core to our user-led approach. Delivering an empathetic service will remain an absolute requirement, regardless of any change in the volume of complaints we receive or the length of time it takes to resolve them. As set out below, we have established a new Public Engagement Advisory Group, which will play a central role in informing changes to PHSO’s service, to ensure it remains responsive to the needs of complainants. We will continue to role model our values and ensure that they are embedded in everything we do, including corporate messaging, training and performance management. We report through both Business Plans and Annual Reports on progress to deliver the Corporate Strategy. Strategy objectives have been translated into defined workstreams ensuring they directly inform all delivery plans. Corporate reports are published on our website and alternative formats are available on request. We will continue to ensure that all reports meet high accessibility standards.