Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 34
34
Accepted
Paragraph: 102
Ahead of the next annual scrutiny hearing, the PHSO should provide an update to the...
Recommendation
Ahead of the next annual scrutiny hearing, the PHSO should provide an update to the Committee on progress with its outreach activities and any evidence of its impact on the diversity of complainants and types of complaints it receives. We would welcome clarification on whether complainant diversity data in the Annual Report and Accounts could be used to assess whether correlations exist between complainants’ backgrounds, the types of complaint they make, and their routes to complain.
Government Response Summary
The PHSO will update the Committee on the progress of its Outreach programme ahead of the next scrutiny inquiry, focusing on building trust and engagement with communities that rarely complain, and will explore options for gathering additional information about complainants to understand barriers to complaining.
Paragraph Reference:
102
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We will update the Committee on our Outreach programme as it progresses. The priority is to engage with communities that rarely complain, and who have little or no trust of public sector organisations. As such, it will take time for us to establish and build up trust and engagement. We also acknowledge that, as PHSO is the final stage in the complaints process, it will take time before people may be ready to refer their unresolved complaint to the Ombudsman, should they make a complaint as a result of our outreach programme. Our initial measurements of success will focus on whether we have been able to build trust and meaningful engagement, alongside knowing more about the concerns of key communities with public services, and what prevents them from complaining. We will update the Committee ahead of the next scrutiny inquiry. Whilst the current demographic data we collect and publish gives us a view of the representation of different groups in our service population, it does not give us a detailed and intersectional understanding of the issues that arise for different groups and how the complainant journey may differ. Understanding how experiences differ across different population groups is essential. We are exploring options for gathering additional information about complainants and their circumstances that will allow us to better understand barriers to complaining.