Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Conclusion 12
2nd Report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2018–19
Published 3 Jul 2020
Paragraph 43
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)
The PHSO successfully delivered cost reductions of 24% in a short amount of time. There is, however, a need for a serious discussion about the level of funding the PHSO requires to sustainably deliver a good service and become an exemplary Ombudsman. Ombudsman services serve as a last point of appeal for complaints Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2018–19 23 from people who have suffered great distress or loss. It is essential that such services are properly resourced. The Committee would support an evidence-based bid for more funding if it could be demonstrated that this would improve service to complainants. The PHSO should prepare this evidence ahead of the now-postponed Spending Review and keep the Committee fully informed of its funding requirements and the implications of the eventual settlement.
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, 2nd Report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2018–19 (HC 117), paragraph 43, 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 It says it no longer publishes internal process scores against the Service Charter, which have been replaced by a Quality Assurance Framework.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.