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Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Recommendation 12

Seventh report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2019–20 Published 25 Jan 2021 Paragraph 37

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2019-20 All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Committee recommends that the value for money study should adopt the following broad structure in its report: For each area examined, the report should first set out what is expects to see of a modern ombudsman organisation, it should then explain what it did actually find and finally it should analyse how the PHSO’s performance compares against modern expectations.

From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Seventh report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2019–20 (HC 843), paragraph 37, 25 January 2021

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 20 April 2021 (deadline 25 March 2021).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Government's response addresses only the recommendation on legislative reform of the Ombudsman, stating that there are "no plans to reform the Ombudsman system up to and including 2023–24" while it will "carefully consider the committee's findings and any future opportunities".

  • The Government "appreciates the desire of PACAC to modernise Ombudsman standards and agrees that this is an important matter".
  • It gives the pressures on Government and the parliamentary timetable as the reason the 2016 Bill "has not progressed".
  • The Minister's letter covers only recommendation nine, which falls under Cabinet Office responsibility. The PHSO responds separately to the remaining recommendations.
  • The PHSO states that from the end of April 2021 it will start publishing casework decisions online.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error