Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Accepted in Part
Outline departments adopting PHSO Complaint Standards and present plan for full implementation
Recommendation
We reiterate the recommendation from our previous report that the Cabinet Office should strongly encourage Government departments and public bodies to sign up to the Government Complaint Standards. In its response to this report, the Government should outline how many departments and public bodies have now signed up to the PHSO Complaint Standards, and set out its plan and timetable to introduce these Standards across all departments and public bodies. (Paragraph 69) 30 Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2022–23
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to strongly encourage departments to adopt the Complaint Standards, noting early adopters, but rejects mandating their use across all organisations due to their diversity, preferring a flexible approach.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The Government remains supportive of the complaint standards and is pleased that a number of departments, including the Cabinet Office, HMRC and Department for Transport, have come forward as early adopters. We are pleased that Angela MacDonald, Second Permanent Secretary at HMRC and Cross-Government Complaints Champion has helped to encourage good practice in other Departments. Assuming that the Standards are shown to be working in practice it is right that the Cabinet Office, as sponsor department for the PHSO, should play a role in working with other departments to encourage their adoption in a way that best meets their priorities. We would, however, stop short of mandating their use across all organisations given the complexity and diversity of government departments and public bodies. Departments and Arms-Length Bodies are of varying sizes and have different deliverables and approaches to complaint handling, as such we would prefer to strongly encourage their take up, but in a way that best suits each department’s priorities.