Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 13
Third Report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2022–23
Published 4 Mar 2024
Paragraph 69
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2022-23 All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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.
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Third Report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2022–23 (HC 198), paragraph 69, 4 March 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 23 May 2024 (deadline 14 May 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government states it "remains supportive of the PHSO" but is "not convinced that fundamental reform is a priority at the current time" and would "stop short of mandating" the Complaint Standards.
- On mediation, the Government says NHS England "agrees that mediation can support the resolution of a complaint" and "will work with DHSC and NHS Resolution to encourage the medical profession to engage in mediation".
- On legislative reform of the PHSO, the Government is "not convinced that fundamental reform is a priority at the current time" but is "content to keep this under review" and to look at specific proposals "on a case by case basis".
- It notes that it recently introduced legislation to remove the MP filter for victims of crime and says it "will be important to review the impact of this in the year ahead".
- On the Complaint Standards, it "remains supportive" and says the Cabinet Office should play a role, "assuming that the Standards are shown to be working in practice", but it would "stop short of mandating their use" and prefers to "strongly encourage" take up.