Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Conclusion 2
2nd Report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2018–19
Published 3 Jul 2020
Paragraph 12
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2018-19 All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Notwithstanding the fact the PHSO has met its section average KPI scores, there are some particularly disappointing scores relating to gathering information and explaining how it makes decisions and recommendations. There is also a significant gap between the scores from complainant feedback and the PHSO’s own internal assurance scores for these KPIs. It is essential that complainants feel the PHSO has gathered and used the evidence correctly if they are to have confidence in the outcome of the PHSO’s investigations, and these scores indicate serious dissatisfaction among a significant number of complainants. The Committee welcome the PHSO’s publication of the guidance on how caseworkers should use and weigh evidence. This should be a priority area for improvement for the PHSO who should report back to the Committee with the actions it is taking to improve these scores and the results of those actions. This report should also highlight any similarities between the types of cases that seem to consistently attract low scores. The PHSO should also review its internal assurance procedures to narrow the gap between complainant scores and the internal assurance scores.
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, 2nd Report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2018–19 (HC 117), paragraph 12, 3 July 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 28 September 2020 (deadline 3 September 2020).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) welcomes the Committee's report and responds to each recommendation, agreeing with most and endorsing the call for a fresh start on Ombudsman reform legislation.
- On explaining its decisions, PHSO agrees there is a need to improve how it explains how it gathers and uses evidence. It says it no longer publishes internal process scores against the Service Charter, which have been replaced by a Quality Assurance Framework.
- On Covid-19 and timeliness, PHSO agrees transparency matters and is "currently considering how to present this information in the next Annual Report". On clinical advice, it says planned changes "may" be delayed and that it will conduct an independent evaluation during the next Peer Review.
- On legislation, PHSO "fully endorse[s]" starting the process anew and calls on the Government to revisit its plans for a single Public Service Ombudsman. It also supports removing the 'MP filter', calling the status quo "an outdated barrier to accessing justice".
- PHSO accepts the recommendation on compliance reporting and says it will "explore how best to report on compliance in the 2020–21 Annual Report". On the Complaints Standards Framework, it says the consultation will conclude by the autumn and it plans to pilot the Framework once finalised.