Sixth Report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2021–22

The government states that they have already made improvements to several aspects of the casework process, including casework management (IT) system; forms, letters and templates; learning resources for caseworkers; and revised training and guidance for caseworkers, and are evaluating call recording and transcription of casework discussions.

The government acknowledges the improvements to the website and will review the content to see if further improvements can be made to explain their process and the complainant journey, whilst ensuring that the website remains succinct, accessible and easy to navigate, also exploring technological solutions.

The government acknowledges the importance of staff retention and outlines steps taken such as training, staff surveys, and monitoring turnover, but makes no specific commitments to address the PHSO's loss of institutional knowledge or casework management pace.

The government acknowledges the challenges of the current labour market but does not plan to target applicants over 50, citing good representation in the PHSO workforce, and states the review of pay and grading will help them remain competitive.

The government acknowledges the importance of understanding the protected characteristics of their workforce and are planning a campaign to raise the benefits of staff declaring this information with the aim of having as complete data as possible and will report this, for the grades where they have sufficient numbers of staff to maintain anonymity, once they have more complete data.

The PHSO is absorbing an increase in demand and managing inflationary pressures by implementing the 2022-25 Corporate Strategy to drive efficiencies in the casework process and enhance the service, as well as reviewing corporate functions to release resources.

The PHSO outlines plans to implement the 2022–25 Corporate Strategy, increase efficiency, introduce new mechanisms to respond to demand, identify and progress systemic cases, and ensure reports meet high accessibility standards but does not commit to specific or new efficiency targets or plans.

The government welcomes the recommendation and states that it is actively raising the matter of Ombudsman reform with the Government, parliamentarians and wider stakeholders.

The government is supportive of the complaint standards and, assuming they are shown to be working in practice, the Cabinet Office should play a role in working with other departments to encourage their adoption.

The government says PHSO is absorbing an increase in demand and outlines planned actions including increasing efficiency, introducing mechanisms to respond to increases in demand, and identifying systemic cases, as well as establishing a new Public Engagement Advisory Group.

The PHSO considers all complaints, and uses a proportional approach, and will review the methods applied to the casework process to ensure it is dynamic and able to adapt to the levels of demand for its service.

The PHSO aims to double the number of mediations again in 2023-24, has trained more caseworkers, and will start publishing outcomes of complaints resolved through mediation; however, they state that complainant availability and the need for systemic investigations are limiting factors.

The government states that staff turnover has stabilised and that they continue to prioritise developing PHSO's people to ensure they remain an attractive employer.

The government states that the increase in staff turnover in 2021-22 was in-line with national trends following the pandemic and that turnover has now stabilized. They continue to prioritize developing PHSO's people and are committed to continuous improvement and learning.

The PHSO notes that the current labour market is challenging, but they have successfully recruited to roles which have historically been difficult to fill. They do not have plans to target applicants who are over the age of 50 as workforce data shows that they have good representation from this age group.

The government acknowledges the Ombudsman's work and the challenges it faces, including dealing with backlogs and increasing service demand, while noting the committee's request for robust plans for further efficiencies.

The government will update the Committee on the Outreach program as it progresses, focusing on building trust and engagement with communities that rarely complain.