Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 26
26
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 81
The Committee firmly agrees with need for legislative change of the PHSO.
Recommendation
The Committee firmly agrees with need for legislative change of the PHSO. It has been seven years since the draft Public Service Ombudsman Bill was presented by the Government. Given that there is widespread consensus on the need to reduce the complexity of the ombudsman system in England and to bring the legislation in line with international best practice, the Government’s reluctance to address this long-standing issue is unacceptable.
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the recommendation and states that it is actively raising the matter of Ombudsman reform with the Government, parliamentarians and wider stakeholders.
Paragraph Reference:
81
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
We welcome this recommendation. It is extremely disappointing that Government has chosen not to act on repeated recommendations from PACAC and its predecessor committees to progress Ombudsman reform. We need to see wholesale reform to streamline the number of Ombuds schemes by creating a single Public Service Ombudsman. Such reform must: • Enable the Ombudsman to investigate public service failings that affect people who are unable or unwilling to complain; • Allow citizens a choice to refer their complaint via their MP or directly to the Ombudsman; • Introduce stronger powers to drive improvement in complaint-handling in frontline public services. We are actively raising this matter with the Government, parliamentarians and wider stakeholders and we welcome PACAC’s support.