Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
First Report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2020–21
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
HC 213
Published 20 May 2022
Recommendations
2
Accepted in Part
Para 20
The PHSO should more clearly notify visitors to its website which cases are not being...
Recommendation
The PHSO should more clearly notify visitors to its website which cases are not being considered under this new policy and further update the Committee on the review outlined to the Committee during the oral evidence session. The PHSO should …
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Government Response Summary
The government states they will look at whether they can provide more granular information on their website to give members of the public and MPs a more specific indication of how long it may take for their case to be looked at, but will not be able to use the Severity of Injustice scale for cases level 3 to 6 at intake.
3
Accepted
Para 21
The PHSO should also consider developing and reporting against timeliness targets for each grade of...
Recommendation
The PHSO should also consider developing and reporting against timeliness targets for each grade of “severity of injustice” to better monitor the impact of the backlog on higher category cases in Levels 3 to 6.
Government Response Summary
The government states the Service Charter provides a valuable source of feedback about people’s experiences of PHSO’s service. The government claims they continue to train and develop new staff and that they have plans in place to continue reducing the current queue of cases by recruiting and training new caseworkers.
4
Accepted
Para 26
The Committee notes that the PHSO has again struggled to reverse the trend of weaker...
Recommendation
The Committee notes that the PHSO has again struggled to reverse the trend of weaker feedback scores on some elements of its Service Charter performance areas. The Committee however also notes the need to clarify the wording of its Service …
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Government Response Summary
The government will conduct a review of how PHSO obtains feedback from service users, including working with a research agency, reviewing the complainant survey, undertaking an internal review of quality standards, and using the Public and User Advisory Group.
5
Accepted in Part
Para 27
The PHSO should set out how it plans to take to address the three-long term,...
Recommendation
The PHSO should set out how it plans to take to address the three-long term, low performing scores relating to how evidence is gathered, how decisions are reached and how decisions are made in a timely final decision.
Government Response Summary
The PHSO has delivered and fulfilled 22 of the 25 recommendations of the Clinical Advice Review and are progressing the remaining three recommendations. They are carrying out a phased roll-out of the sharing of provisional view reports with clinical advisers and applying lessons learnt to future phases.
7
Deferred
The Committee recommends that the PHSO learns from and implements best practice at the Local...
Recommendation
The Committee recommends that the PHSO learns from and implements best practice at the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman by publishing feedback scores about its service, split between those complainants who were happy with the result of their case …
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Government Response Summary
The government is evaluating a six-month hybrid working pilot and will report on its evaluation in the autumn to set out working arrangements into the medium term.
9
Deferred
Para 43
The Committee welcomes the career development pathways and accreditation scheme put in place within the...
Recommendation
The Committee welcomes the career development pathways and accreditation scheme put in place within the organisation, but also encourages the PHSO to look at possible new development opportunities within the organisation to encourage staff retention and to ensure there is …
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Government Response Summary
The government endorses the Committee’s recommendation urging the Government to take legislative action to reform UK public service Ombudsman schemes. States that Victims bill will allow complaints directly to PHSO.
17
Para 71
The Government has to take the issue of Ombudsman reform seriously and provide legislative action.
Recommendation
The Government has to take the issue of Ombudsman reform seriously and provide legislative action. We urge the Government to set out a legislative timetable before the end of this year, and seek to deliver the necessary reforms before the …
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Conclusions (13)
1
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 19
The Committee notes the actions taken by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to ensure continuing services to the public in difficult and unprecedented circumstances throughout the pandemic. However, the Committee notes the substantial backlog which has developed as a result. Whilst action is being taken to reduce this, we …
Government Response Summary
The government states that since April 2021, they have focused PHSO’s resources on the more serious health complaints. Government will undertake a final review in autumn 2022 considering 18 months of data.
6
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 34
The PHSO have improved the data output about their own performance in recent years, which the Committee applauds. Nevertheless, the Committee is of the view that even more open and transparent access to feedback data will enable external stakeholders to give an accurate judgement on the work of the PHSO. …
Government Response Summary
The government describes actions taken to strive for an inclusive colleague community through recruitment and training.
8
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 40
Good staff retention ensures high standards and shows an engaged and happy workforce. Therefore, the Committee believes that it is in the PHSO’s benefit, and the benefit of the people it serves to improve staff engagement and aim for high staff retention. We welcome the PHSO’s commitment to engage more …
Government Response Summary
PHSO has commissioned a peer review to be carried out this year and is leading work with the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) to strengthen and promote peer review across the Ombudsman sector.
10
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 48
The Committee notes the progress that has been made to date in implementing the Donaldson Review and look forward to further updates on the implementation of the Review, including an update on the progress of the pilots into systematic investigations.
Government Response Summary
The government launched the PHSO’s Corporate Strategy for 2022–25 and will update the Committee on the implementation of the 2022–23 Business Plan at the next oral evidence hearing.
11
Conclusion
Para 49
Prior to the next scrutiny session, the PHSO should update the Committee on progress against the implementation of the Donaldson Review, outlining how many areas remain outstanding and its proposed steps and timeline to address them. In this update, the PHSO should outline what actions it has taken to embed …
12
Conclusion
The Committee welcomes the progress of the PHSO’s commitment to a diverse workforce. We are pleased by the pledge of continuous improvement in this area and look forward to hearing about further progress in the coming years. (Paragraph 52) Value for money
13
Conclusion
Para 56
The considerably different operating environment brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the PHSO to critically evaluate how it delivers its services. The Committee are pleased the PHSO is conducting a pilot to evaluate the implications of new working practices. The Committee will continue to monitor developments as the …
14
Conclusion
Para 60
The Committee notes the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s commitment to undertaking a peer review and its engagement with the HM Treasury value for money framework. Whilst the Committee recognises the PHSO’s open engagement on measuring its value for money, it remains unclear when its next peer review will be.
15
Conclusion
The Committee reiterates its previous call to undertake a peer review, and recommends that the PHSO do so as soon as possible and on a more regular basis to ensure continued value for money. (Paragraph 61) 28 Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2020–21
16
Conclusion
Para 70
The Committee reiterates its call for the Government to introduce legislation to reform the PHSO and start consulting with relevant stakeholders and the public, on a cross-party basis, to ensure the Bill be brought forward as soon as possible. It is now six years since the publication of the Draft …
18
Conclusion
The PHSO has outlined to the Committee evaluative criteria for the 2021–22 period and explained the delays to the launch of their new strategy. The Committee will continue to monitor the PHSO’s delivery against its 2022–25 corporate strategy. (Paragraph 74) Impact on other organisations
19
Conclusion
Para 77
The Committee notes the strong progress the PHSO has made in delivering against this objective and informing discussions in the international Ombudsman community. The Committee looks forward to hearing of further progress in this area.
20
Conclusion
The Committee welcomes the PHSO’s actions in developing a complaints standard for the NHS and government bodies. The Committee looks forward to seeing further updates on the progress of pilots. (Paragraph 81) Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2020–21 29 Priorities for scrutiny As in our previous report, this annex …